That Time in Infinity High
by disneylover3212008
Summary: An AU series of vignettes featuring the characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the environment of high school. Witness all the hijinks, hilarity, heart, heartbreak, friendship, stolen smoothie machines, and amount of Peter Quill dancing through the hallways of a crazy group of kids just trying to make their way through those four years- you know the ones. You know.
1. When Sharon Started High School

**That Time at Infinity High**

XXX

 _When Sharon Carter Started High School_

 _Avengers Junior Year- Fall_

XXX

 **Sunday**

Sharon Carter was always a girl with a plan. Her brain worked in mission and accomplishments, always thinking much farther ahead than those around her. Maybe it had to do with her family's history in the service- he did run quite the tight ship around her house. Close to everything was scheduled down to the minute and there was no budging on the rules no matter how much begging was made. This meant her childhood was spent constantly watching the clock because heaven forbid if a television program went a minute late past her allotted time and was shut off before she could see the end. It had really started to grate in her older years, but it also became very apparent the traits had rubbed off on her in a lot of ways. It could make friendships a little strained and difficult to say the least.

One of the side-effects of this personality was a bit of an obsession with lists- one of which was now in her hands with a pen in the other as she quickly and efficiently scratched off every item. Tomorrow was her first day of high school and she wanted to make sure she had remembered everything in her weeks of planning.

The supplies had been purchased, labeled with her label maker, and were currently sitting in her brand new pink backpack on her desk chair. The outfit had been selected and hanging in her closet for close to a week- a tasteful black skirt that was neither too long nor short, a blue blouse that brought out her eyes, and some sparkling black flats to pull it all together. Her alarm had been set with the perfect song to get her up without hitting the snooze button. Breakfast would be-

She was interrupted from her list by a knock at her door. She turned from where she was perched on the edge of her bed to see it was none other than the brunette waves and piercing eyes of her Aunt Peggy. Not that Sharon ever called her that since she was only two years older than her. Sharon's father had been getting married in a week when her grandmother had announced she was pregnant and thus would be unable to pay for the nuptials. It had been a bit of a sticking point in the years that followed and there were a few years Sharon didn't hear anything from her grandparents. She was pretty sure it was what had driven her grandparents abroad to England to raise their new little girl as well. This embargo was finally broken when Sharon was about eight so Sharon and Peggy could know one another with the possibility of being like sisters. Her dad would often still shake his head sometimes though about how ridiculous his parents had been for the situation to come about.

They never took it out on Peggy though. Though she lived in England and visited only once or twice, her parents had welcomed her with open arms when she discussed her desire two years ago for a bit of American education and time with her family overseas. It was impossible not to give into Peggy eventually with how flawless she was. It was clear in every step she took that this was a confident, strong girl who didn't need anybody's help to get where she needed to go. But she was still open enough that people flocked to her and followed her, thinking she was absolutely the bee's knees no matter where she went. The two contrasting poles were balanced with an ease that Sharon greatly envied in a lot of respects.

"It looks like someone's ready for tomorrow," Peggy began casually with her British accent bouncing off the plain walls, stepping into the room and looking at the backpack on her desk. Peggy didn't often visit Sharon here because she felt it was just too plain and boring with the white empty walls and everything arranged just so. She didn't seem to understand how little use her niece had for just a bit of clutter to add some personality. In return Sharon avoided her room filled to the gills with frills and photos tacked to the wall because it gave her a degree of claustrophobia. Her parents had become more lenient when Peggy arrived, allowing her to push their boundaries just a bit since it wasn't what the British import was used to in the slightest. She could even stay out until ten if she wanted.

Sharon just kept on with her list, not wanting to lose her progress before bedtime at nine thirty on the dot to get exactly eight hours of recommended sleep. She heard a bit of a squeak of the springs as Peggy sat beside her. "It's going to be just fine, you know. It's not nearly as much of a fuss as everyone makes it out to be."

"I know," Sharon made clear. She hated when Peggy talked down to her. She was only two years older. It didn't make her some sage figure on life and its meaning. Because she did know high school was far from the most important thing that was going to happen to her. She had a whole life planned involving service like her father before her and hopefully a family of her own someday. But that didn't mean tomorrow wasn't going to have a huge impact on the next four years and getting settled in a completely new environment. And four years seemed like an awful large part of your life when you were only fourteen. Sharon needed to make a good first impression and thus wasn't leaving anything to chance. She didn't have a British accent to make her instantly approachable to her classmates. "I just like things to be organized."

Peggy took a look around her bedroom, clearly judging how empty it was. "I can tell." Sharon went back to her list and Peggy let out a sigh at the heart-to-heart that clearly wasn't going to happen. The two girls got along fine, but they were just very different people. So she rose, but put an arm on her niece's shoulder before she went to leave. "Just remember, if you need anything at all just find myself or Hope. We'd be more than happy to help you out any way we can."

"Thanks. But I kind of want to do this by myself," Sharon admitted bluntly. "I don't want them to think I'm the next Peggy Carter."

"And what's so wrong with that?" Peggy questioned as she removed her hand, feather clearly getting ruffled. You couldn't tell it just by looking at her, but Sharon had learned to recognize the dangerous dip in her voice when you had fallen into the crosshairs of her temper.

"What's wrong with that is I don't think I can live up to it." Sharon looked up at her aunt for the first time, identical brown eyes meeting one another. "So I'd just like to be the best Sharon Carter I can be."

Peggy had immediately softened and sighed as she looked over the backpack and outfit hanging in the closet. "Well, I think in that case Infinity High isn't going to know what hit it." She gave a last fond pat on the shoulder and took her leave, but not before saying a few last words to try and quell her niece's nerves. "Have a good night."

"You too." And with that Sharon crossed the last item off her list and set it on her dresser, glancing at her loose dark blonde hair in the mirror. Maybe she could schedule an extra fifteen minutes to see if she could do something with it if she moved her bedtime up. She quickly changed her alarm clock and slid the book that had been her secret mission the past few weeks out from under the bed. It was Peggy's yearbook from last year and she had taken to looking through and trying to memorize as many faces as possible so no one took her by surprise. Peggy's room was so disastrous Sharon didn't even think she noticed it had been missing for weeks now. She reviewed it once to refresh her memory before sliding it back and grabbing a pair of pajamas from her dresser. She would need to hop in the shower now if she wanted to be in bed by nine fifteen.

 **Monday**

Sharon straightened her shirt for what had to be close to the millionth time as she climbed out of her mother's car where Taylor Swift's "Nothing I Do Better than Revenge" was blaring from to her slight embarrassment. It had been her mom's idea to put on some 'relatable tunes' and she hadn't had the heart to tell her to turn it off. It was her mom after all and she had signed up to ride with her. Peggy had asked if Sharon wanted to ride with her and Hope since Juniors were allowed to have cars on campus, but Sharon had used her mom wanting to see her off as an excuse to avoid walking in on the heels of Peggy Carter. She could just imagine the people who would come and just get a thrill out of Peggy proclaiming her little niece was just starting her time here. No thank you.

She gave her mother a last wave, not wanting to seem too attached in case someone was watching, and made her way up the long courtyard that led to the large set of doors that was the main entrance. The couple people ahead of her made sure to stop at the statue of the founder right before them and quickly rub its nose before moving on. Peggy had let her know it was a tradition for the first day of school and every exam, so Sharon walked up to the bust of Stan Lee and quickly rubbed her hand over his golden nose his glasses were perched on. "Excelsior," she whispered before continuing forward, proud that she had navigated a variable so easily.

The main doors led you right into the entrance for the cafeteria, students gathered at the tables eagerly catching up before the first bell rang. Sharon had scoped out the layout already at the day last week the freshman had been allowed to come in a get their bearing and find their lockers. There were staircases on either side of her as well as hallways. The left hallway would split off into another where all the Social Studies classrooms were, but walking past that would take you to the gym and all its assorted parts. The right hallway would split off as well into the English hallway but going straight would lead you to the theatre and arts center. Upstairs had the library and two hallways above the two below them with the left being Science and the right Math. Sharon's locker was currently in the Math hallway with the other freshman, but she already had everything she needed. So she climbed the staircase to her left and headed in the direction of the Science hallway, wanting to get there before even the warning bell to find a good seat towards the middle by herself.

She was surprised when she got to class to see a few kids were already in her Honors Biology class. Apparently she hadn't been alone in her idea, either that or these were all the kids terrified with socializing with the older ones downstairs. Her ideal middle seat appeared to be taken- with a silver haired boy and dark-haired girl on one side speaking quick and low in what had to be a foreign language and a boy with brown hair sticking messily up in the front and glasses on the other side.

"Umm… this seat isn't taken," he spoke up, and Sharon realized her had noticed her eyeing the seat. Not wanting to be rude she quickly nodded and sat next to him, quietly and efficiently removing her blue Biology supplies from her backpack. The boy already had everything out, though his was proof he did not believe in color coordinating with how mismatched and worn down everything looked. "I'm Peter Parker," he introduced himself, clearly nervous as he extended a shaking hand.

"Sharon Carter," she took it, giving hopefully a warm smile. They never seemed to come off that way unfortunately, looking a lot more intense than she intended. She was probably the worst girl to be sitting next to Peter right now actually given how flustered he was already. "It's, it's nice to meet you."

"Same here." He looked over her books, hand rubbing the hair at the back of his head and making it stick up even more. "You look like you have everything figured out."

Small talk. She could do this. She was ready for class and had the time to spare. "I figured if I look like that, maybe I might believe it myself." He laughed at this, making her feel a little more confident as she continued. "I like plans and I plan on faking it until I make it for the next four years. It's how I keep from being too intimidated by the legendary high school."

This seemed to put him a bit more at ease with her. "Yes, the legendary high school- the years where you turn into who you're going to be. Not the least bit scary at all. You might have to talk me through the identity crisis I'm going to end up having." The warning bell rang out and more students started drifting into the classroom to fill in the seats. A young Asian woman also entered and went to the front desk to set her armful of books down. "What class do you have after this?"

"Honors English with Coulson."

Peter beamed, almost relieved. "So do I. We could head over there together, safety in numbers and all that." Sharon gave a nod of ascent, surprised at how well this seemed to be going. She hadn't calculated having another person into her timing of getting to classes, but Peter looked like he wouldn't slow her down too much with his gangly frame.

Another bell rang and a hush almost seemed to fall over the class as they sat in anticipation of the woman scribbling on the white board. She finished writing a rather complex formula before turning to address them. "Hello everyone. I am Dr. Cho and I will be your Honors Biology teacher this year." She gestured to the board. "And can anyone tell me what this is?"

Sharon wasn't too surprised when Peter's hand shot in the air amidst the silence. Cho did though as she nodded to them. "The Krebs' Cycle, Doctor."

"I can say I wasn't expecting that. Peter Parker, correct?" Peter nodded, glasses nearly slipping off his face. "Very good. As for the rest of you, what I was aiming for is that by the end of this year you will be able to write this equation yourself from memory. And that will be just the beginning of what we cover. Now-"

She was interrupted by the door being thrown open and a raven haired girl running in. "Sorry," she apologized as she literally barreled to the first open spot up front. "Sorry. I overslept. Bad first impression, I know. Won't happen again, I know. So we can skip the lecture and just continue." She literally dumped her belonging on the desk, almost unaware of everyone's looks her way. Dr. Cho quickly regained control of the situation however, clearing her throat to regain everyone's attention.

"Now, I would like us to partner up and play a bit of an icebreaker game. I want you all to learn five facts about someone and this class and in about fifteen minutes you will present their name and two of them. So partner up." Sharon had to hold back a groan as everyone started moving about looking for familiar faces. She hated this type of activity and found it to be such a waste of time. She would much rather get started on covering the syllabus immediately before launching into lecture.

Still, she had to play along. Luckily, all she had to do was turn to Peter and flip open her notebook. He seemed to understand the gesture and looked thoughtful for a minute. "So… you know my name. Well… I, umm, I live with my aunt and uncle." Sharon scribbled that down, looking at him curiously. "My… my parents died-"

"Hey!" a female voice called to them followed by the scrape of a chair. The two turned to see the late girl had pulled up a seat next to them. "There's an odd number so the teacher told me to make a group of three with someone. You guy seem like you need someone to lighten things up here." She was a whirlwind. It was like she didn't take a breath between her words, simply plowing through at top speed and a deep sarcastic edge. "So I'm Darcy Lewis. I'm a Virgo." Sharon and Peter both started writing frantically as she continued. "I know CPR but only for cute guys. I guess Science is alright but it isn't my favorite. I'm pretty much broke but what high school kid isn't so maybe that isn't a great fact. I hate animals with whiskers. They freak me out. Don't ask me why. I-"

"Slow down, Darcy," Peter spoke up, shaking off his hand. "It's too soon for my hand to be writing so much it cramps."

"Okay then, I guess I've told you enough. Though that is just the tip of the Darcy iceberg. Let's hear about you two clowns then." She flipped open her notebook only to look down and see it had a large blue splotch that bled through most of the pages. "Shoot. I meant to grab the new one."

Now Sharon was very put off, but did her best to accommodate this particular girl who seemed to be like a literal whirlwind. So she put her pen down. "I'm Sharon Carter. My father was in the Army pretty much up until I was born."

"That must suck," Darcy cut in. "Bet he doesn't let you do anything with the size of the stick up his-"

"Darcy," Peter chided her, seeing Sharon looked almost offended to hear someone say something like that. Her mouth was half-open as if she couldn't quite find what to say with such a candid person. "I'm sorry, Sharon. One down, four to go."

She managed to rattle off her facts despite Darcy interrupting every one. Sharon was quick to adjust though, grasping this girl's sense of humor and trying to learn to roll with it as Peter was. Her facts weren't that interesting though, so she decided on the last one to admit she had a guilty appreciation for one Taylor Swift. Peter managed to elaborate about his parents dying when he was young and tell them about his passion for science before Dr. Cho regained control of class.

Everything else passed quickly as each student presented and then they went over the syllabus and distributed textbooks. Sharon wrote her name on the inside of her in her blue pen before tucking it into her back pack. Darcy meanwhile threw it in without a glance, making it very unclear how she ended up in this class to begin with. She highlighted and made notes on the syllabus, giving Dr. Cho her full attention the whole way through.

Finally the bell rang and everyone rocketed out of the classroom into the enfolding chaos of the hallway. Sharon waited patiently for Peter to gather himself before the two stepped out, already striking off seconds from her six minutes. She instantly knew she would have to adjust her calculations again when Darcy was waiting for them outside the door.

"So where are you two off to?"

"Honors English," Peter answered, trying to keep up with Sharon as she started down the hallway. Darcy seemed to have no sense of haste though, stopping in her tracks.

"That sucks. I have Western Civilization." Sharon nodded and started walking again, only to be brought to a halt as Darcy spoke again. "When's your lunch?"

Peter could see Sharon wanted to move, but he didn't have it in him to be rude. "I have mine fifth. Sharon?" She nodded, that being hers as well. Darcy's face lit up at this, but all Sharon could see were the seconds ticking down.

"I'll see you then!" With that, she was off in the opposite direction. Peter did his best to keep up with Sharon as she almost jogged towards the stairs, stumbling over himself. "Slow down. We're going to make it just fine. Besides, I hear Coulson is pretty cool, especially on the first day."

"I don't need him to be cool," Sharon shrugged as she went down the stairs, not afraid to move through people. "I just need to get there before my four minutes and twelve seconds is up."

She heard Peter let out a laugh. "You're crazy." Sharon turned to face him, knowing this was it. She had been expecting it to happen, but honestly she had been hoping she would hold out a little longer before the intensity drove people off. Peter seemed to instantly sense her spiraling thoughts and put his hands out. "But in a good way. In a completely good way." She just continued to stare, unable to tell is he was messing with her or not. "Come on. We've only got three minutes and twenty-seven seconds left."

He started off down the right hallway, this time with her trailing behind him. She wasn't able to hide the smile that appeared on her face as Peter led the way, nearly tripping a few times. Maybe this was going to be okay after all. "It's actually three minutes and thirty-six seconds, but you were close."

Coulson was cool for lack of better words. He introduced himself and seemed to be a very straight-forward, no nonsense sort of guy with quite a bit of humor as well. His classroom was even filled with all sorts of old school memorabilia- he said because he had no more room at home. He introduced that the first book they would be reading was _To Kill a Mockingbird_ which was one of his favorites and didn't waste time on breaking any sort of ice though he did seem interested in them as individuals.

It turns out she had every class but one with Peter, he had gym and she had ROTC, saving her the stress of choosing who to sit by a lot of the time. She even managed to avoid running into her aunt until the two of them passed her table in the lunchroom. Peggy was currently in the middle of the group of three at their round table, the one every girl in this school was currently looking at to Sharon's notice. On her left was a blonde girl with a thick headband writing down some notes and on her right was a tough looking girl with short black hair.

The first was Gwen Stacy, the sophomore head of class and new friend Peggy had made last year when she had the courage to approach the table and ask to sit there. She explained she thought her class was a bunch of airheads and didn't want to associate with them. So she didn't and hadn't, instead being adopted by the class above hers in practically every way. Sharon bet most of the newcomers didn't even know what year she truly was.

The other was Hope Pym, though Sharon technically wasn't supposed to know that. She went by Hope Van Dyne since her father taught Chemistry here, trying to keep under the radar. Peggy was the only one who technically knew, though Sharon couldn't help it she had been walking past her door when Hope was sleeping over when they were joking about it. Hope had pretty much become immediate best friends with Peggy when she came to Infinity High as she recognized a kindred spirit. Hope didn't take any nonsense from anybody.

"Sharon!" Peggy beamed up at her. Gwen gave a wave while Hope nodded. "How's the first day going? You can sit here and tell us all about it if you like."

"Actually, we're meeting another… person," Sharon stumbled on how to describe Darcy at this point. She noticed Peggy look over at Peter and sighed, gesturing in his direction. "This is my friend, Peter Parker." Peter seemed quite nervous as being the center of these three girls attention, going completely red.

"Don't be getting a boyfriend too soon," Peggy joked, somehow making Peter go even redder. "It's more hassle than it's worth."

Sharon tried to save Peter some embarrassment he was currently experiencing by slinging some back. "I don't see how you would know, seeing as you've never had one yourself."

Peggy let out a huff, slightly playful but also slightly indignant. "I'm just holding out for the right one." She looked past Sharon, who turned to see a blonde muscular guy sitting at a table by his lonesome for the moment. She instantly recognized the one and only Steve Rogers, the junior who Peggy had drawn a heart around in her yearbook. She had to admit upon seeing him in person she could tell a lot of the qualities Hope and Peggy whispered about in their room were true.

Hope just rolled her eyes. "He didn't come over here last year. He's not going to this year. The school is just going to be eternally locked in your unresolved sexual tension until we all choke on it." Peggy flashed her a glare as Gwen chuckled.

"Don't take it personally," Gwen tried to salvage things. "He's just intimidated by what a kick-ass woman you are. It's impossible for him not to be."

"That and the fact you put a guy in the hospital," Hope added. Sharon groaned at the mention of the story while Peter just looked between all of them, completely out of the loop.

"Wait, what?" Gwen looked eager to give him some explanation when there was a crash from across the lunchroom. Everyone turned to see something had happened by where the food was being served, but a crowd was now forming that made it impossible to see what. Soon shouts and cries were erupting from that direction and even more people made their way over, making it impossible for Sharon to get a glimpse at anything.

A dark-skinned guy, tall and lean, made his way out of the crowd against everyone and over to Steve. Sam Wilson Sharon recognized from the yearbook. "Hey, some freshman assholes are messing with Matt! Lang's fighting with them right now!" Steve was instantly on his feet and most of the crowd parted as he made his way through with Sam right behind him.

"Every year," Peggy rolled her eyes. "I hope he doesn't go as easy on them as he did last year."

"Last year they just stole something from his backpack," Gwen reminded her. "That sounded like they could have tripped him or something. Especially is Scott's fighting."

"Scott will fight anyone for any reason," Hope crossed her arms as the chaos seemed to die down. The room even became quiet enough now you could hear Steve's voice from where they were gathered.

"We're not going to tolerate bullies in any from here, alright?" came a very stern voice that Sharon noticed Peggy smile at. "I don't care how it started. This is your one warning, alright? He's just trying to have a normal first day like you." With that, the commotion seemed to die down and conversations started up again just as a very stern, older woman in black was making her way over. "It looks like he saved the day before Vice Principal Hill could even make it over." Hope made a grand gesture to Peggy. "Your knight in shining armor."

"We should grab a seat," Sharon told Peter. "Darcy will be looking for us." Peter nodded and the two made their way after a wave to the girls to an empty table, deciding to stay inside rather than going out as some students had. Sharon kept an eye out for Darcy when Steve and the other guy walked past her. They were followed by two others- one sporting a split lip on his huge smirk as well as a black eye and another using a cane and wearing round tinted glasses. Scott Lang and Matt Murdock. Of course.

"I thought we weren't going to get in any fights this year, Scott," Steve lectured behind him, making Scott roll his eyes.

"In his defense, he was defending my honor," Matt spoke up with a self-depreciating smile.

"Yeah," Scott agreed, guiding Matt a touch to the right wordlessly. "No one trips my best friend and is going to walk straight for at least a week. And besides, it's progress that I made it this far into the year." Steve just gave him a look as the four reached their table and had a seat. "So is this the part where we ask how everyone's summer went?"

"We hung out yesterday, Lang," Sam shook his head. "But, I'll bite. How was your summer?"

"Wow, I wasn't expecting anyone to bite," Scott admitted, now scrambling. "Wet? Hot? American?" He shrugged. "It was summer."

Sharon was pulled from their conversation by Darcy literally falling into the seat next to her. "Wow, you guys won't believe it. First, I was there for the fight and then this guy offers to pay for mine and everyone else who was still in line's lunches in honor of 'The Noble Blow Stricken Against Injustice By Our Very Own Steve Rogers'." She grabbed a sandwich and took a large bite.

"Who can do that?" Peter questioned.

"Tony Stark can do that," Darcy answered. "I mean, he bought my lunch so I'm forever indebted to him. He told everyone to join the Howard Stark Science Club while he had our attention."

"I'm certainly planning to," Peter admitted. "It's the best in the state with Stark industries backing it."

Darcy shrugged. "Maybe I'll look into it too. I need some extracurricular to keep me out of trouble. I can't afford to end up back in jail again." She looked up from her sandwich to see the looks on her friends' faces. "It was a joke. A believable joke, but a joke nonetheless. I mean I have done illegal things. I just haven't been caught."

Lunch passed pretty quickly with the three getting to know one another a bit more before heading to their next class together. Sharon was even starting to warm to Darcy in an arms distance away manner. The rest of day actually went pretty much without incident until Peter crashed into someone on their way to their last class, sending him to the floor.

"Dude, I'm so sorry," the guy who had plowed into him apologized. He had blonde hair and a mustache to match while sporting a red leather coat and Walkman at his hip. Sharon immediately recognized Peter Quill, one of the group that sat under that gnarled tree during lunch. He pulled Peter to his feet with a quick yank and dusted him off. "Wow, you're so small I must have missed you." He pulled the headphones from his head, "Come and Get Your Love" blaring from them.

"Thanks," Peter Parker spoke over the music. "I was in a bit of a hurry. I should have been-"

"It's all good," Peter Quill waved him off. "Us big kids got to look out for you little guys. I'm Peter Quill, the coolest kid here have to say. Slightly biased, but it's true." He noticed Sharon for the first time and smiled, failing to notice the glare she was giving as seconds counted down. "Who's your friend?"

"That's Sharon. I'm Peter Parker." Quill's eyes widened dramatically at that.

"No!" he shouted, pointing a finger at him. "No! That is the second time today a freshman has stole my name. First it was that Foreign Exchange kid-"

Sharon blinked. "His name's Pietro."

"Close enough!" Quill cut her off. "I just… I'm the original and people should know that." He thought for a moment before snapping. "Lil' Peter."

Peter's eyes widened comedic ally. "What? No! No!"

"Come on," Quill pat Peter on the back so hard he nearly fell over again. "It suits you." He put his headphones back on before Peter could object anymore. "I'll tell all my friend- Lil' Peter." With that, he was gone. Peter just let out a sigh and turned to Sharon.

"Like I told you- identity crisis." It actually made her laugh and lose track of the seconds. They still made it with plenty of time though. They all sat as a voice came over the loudspeaker, Dr. Erskine pausing from his introduction.

" _Hello everyone. This is Principal Fury. I just wanted to thank everyone for a relatively eventless first day and welcome you all to the school year. You all stay out of trouble and work hard now, because I have my eye on each and every single one of you._ " Erskine shook his head after it cut out.

"The least he could do it make a new speech one year," he quipped, earning chuckles from the class before continuing. "Now, how about we get back to Western Civilization and the syllabus?"

After her last class, she waved to Peter and Darcy as she climbed into her mother's car, perhaps a not so scary smile on her face. She glanced over at her mom to see she had one of those mom smiles and rolled her eyes. Her mom started out of the lot before turning to her daughter at the first light.

"Tell me everything."

And Sharon did. She did with an energy quite different than what she usually possessed as she spoke of Peter and Darcy and lunch and Peggy with Steve and Lil' Peter. "I don't think it will be too bad after all," she admitted at the end. "I might have found my team to get through the mission with," she also spoke in familiar terms.

And as she went to bed at nine thirty promptly that night after thinking her day over, she decided it went even better than she had planned the night before.

Good thing she now had everything in place and had adjusted her expectations and battle plan for day two.

XXX

 _So I would like to thank you all for reading. This story spawned from a conversation that happened between me and two of my best friends. I just came up with so many ideas and they insisted I write them down. So here we go. This story will be told in vignettes, little snapshots that will bounce around and focus on different students and years at random. I have over thirty planned for right now so I'm quite excited to dive in deeper to these characters and this school._

 _Thank you again for your love, support, and for clicking on this. Send all your thanks to Caitlyn and Kayleigh for dragging me into this._

 _Next Time: That Time in Infinity High… When Peter was Pushed off a Roof_

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	2. When Peter Was Shoved Off a Roof

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 **That Time at Infinity High**

 _When Parker was Pushed off a Roof_

 _Avengers Senior Year- Fall_

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 **Tuesday Evening**

"I'm bored. Are we done yet?"

Jane Foster had been expecting those words sooner rather than later, but five minutes was fast for even her lowest estimates. As she gazed out into the starry, serene sky- it never seemed to make her heart beat a little faster- she debated just ignoring the complaint. She had come out here this evening to see a rare comet and look at the mysteries of the universe. But the pragmatic part of her knew if she ignored this it would only worsen into a full revolt on the part of this individual. So she pulled her eye from the nicest telescope she owned and had volunteered for the evening, turning to face the man who always seemed to be on her last nerve.

Tony Stark would have been thrown out of the Howard Stark Science Club many, many times his past three years and change had it not been for the name of the club. Because the name of the club meant most of their way outside the public school norm funding was very dependent on keeping Stark there and mostly satisfied. It was really easier said than done though.

It wasn't necessarily that he did anything wrong per se, mostly thanks to the influence of his fellow member and friend Bruce- because Lord knows what he might have attempted without him. But so far no illegal acts of science had been conducted. No, it was more that Tony Stark had the unique ability of rubbing each and every single member the wrong way in different ways. It was a feat really. Either it was his arrogance or how bossy he could be in the lab or screening members by his standards or what she described as his desperate bids for attention. Oh, how he needed to be the center of attention- hence the little display Jane knew he was going to put on now if she didn't step in.

Everyone else had given up on trying to corral his flights of fancy and desire to control the group a long time ago. They had been so worn down over time they basically now let him run the place as a self-elected President. Though of course there was the tech and supplies the club now had thanks to this cooperation as well. You kept Tony happy and indulged him- you got to work on the project you wanted. So none of the almost dozen members currently perched up on the roof said anything, though some like Gwen were clearly gritting their teeth trying. No one except Jane, who was far too committed to the science and pursuit of knowledge that was being offered to let him ruin tonight or her work here. She had never been afraid to go toe-to-toe with him over what mattered to her. And for a long time it had cost her a lot of standing in the club. No one wanted to associate with the girl who had one foot out the door in case they'd end up there too.

"Tony," she began, trying to be calm. It never worked if she came in worked up because he would just try to twist it in more until she threatened to explode at him. All while he was laughing his ass off at her. He was perched in one of the lawn chairs that had been brought up, staring out over the city while his arms were crossed over a leather jacket that was probably more than her entire outfit. It was hard to tell if he was acknowledging her with the sunglasses perched on his face, despite it being nine at night, but she liked to think he'd come to respect her that much at least by now. "We talked about this. We're here to watch Halley's Comet as our first field trip. I know it means you have to wait around a bit, but maybe if you grabbed a telescope and-"

"Why don't we just go to a robotics lab?" he cut her off. Her fists clenched slightly, but she held her course. Everyone was now at least glancing their way with varying degrees of sympathy for Jane and the battle she was facing. But Jane just kept her eyes on Stark, pulling her jacket a little tighter around herself as a harsh blast of September wind hit. "We do that as our first trip every year."

Jane rolled her eyes a touch. Of course they did, because Stark pushed for it every August when they met for the first time. "So maybe it's time to try something different, then. There are those here interested in other facets of science besides robotics after all." It was how she had convinced them to go along with this. As Co-President of sorts, being in that spot because she was the only one who could even keep up with Tony at this point, she had promised a year full of new ventures that appealed to everyone. The first part of that had been a night under the stars which really only she found super interesting- the others did their best at pretending though. Maybe part of it had been selfish on her part because she really just wanted to see this comet more than anything and her house didn't have the proper view. But she liked to think she was doing it for the others as well. Their ideas would come in time.

"Then we can go to Stark Industries. Or OsCorp. Or I think I finally managed to get us into the Defense Department nuclear research facility." She had his full attention now as he turned to face her, gesturing wildly. "Anything would be better than sitting on the school roof pretending balls of energy we're never going to reach in the sky are anything more than that. It's a waste of time that no one here really wants to do."

It cut Jane a bit, but she had learned a while ago no one quite shared her fascination with the night sky. No one seemed to be kept awake at night by the mysteries of what was out there or called to imagine the worlds that may lie beyond theirs. All the other members seemed much more grounded in physical, earth based pursuits- except Darcy who was just the casual observer to it all and often her partner in crime. But she just tagged along to keep out of trouble and credit this would be getting her when she applied for college. They didn't see the world like Jane saw it. But she had learned to be okay with that- it meant less people would be after the job she had in mind she decided. Stark was aiming below the belt… and the asshole knew it. But she wasn't going to engage him. She wasn't going to let him win and ruin tonight.

"Have- have you tried filling out the star chart I made up for everyone?" she asked with a forced smile, holding up a gridded piece of paper in her hand. "It should be able to make this a little more fun while you wait. Remember whoever comes up with the most creative constellation wins a prize."

"Yeah, Peter's filling mine out." He gestured to one corner of the square roof where Peter Parker was sitting on the ledge, one foot on the roof and the other dangling over the edge.

"Yep," Peter grumbled as he colored a few more dots onto the grid. "And I'm not even getting paid for it like others are." Peter had latched himself onto Bruce and Tony the moment her first entered the Science Club as a freshman, just wanting to hang out with the two smartest guys at school- the closest to his caliber of thinking as well. Bruce had practically adopted the kid as his brother, showing him anything and everything he took an interest in. Tony had embraced the kid too… as an apprentice. He could frequently be seen doing the little task and endeavors no one really wanted to do in science experiments. All of it was for Stark and the opportunity to one day truly work beside him. At first the kid had been nothing but positive and enthusiastic, but these days you could see it waning to disillusionment. Bruce tried to keep things from going too far in terms of Peter's tasks, but Stark was quite the fan of the hired help and often paid no heed in asking Peter to stay late and clean something up while he sat back and talked with Rhodey.

Gwen stood above him, hands on her boyfriend's shoulders as she stared up into the sky. Gwen was at least pretending to be interested in the whole thing, helping Jane organize and get everyone behind it. She had quite a lot of pull despite being a junior with the company she kept, but thankfully it never seemed to go to her head. Here she was with quite possibly the nerdiest sophomore of the lot, embracing a club of people perhaps below her social standing. Gwen didn't care though, because science was her passion and everyone was just going to have to deal with it. There wasn't going to be a cheerleading uniform or a football player anywhere in her future, and with the support of Hope and Peggy she seemed to be doing quite alright- in fact, she probably beat even Stark in popularity. "Well, maybe if you date him then he'll pay you properly."

She was of course referring to the one and only Pepper Pots, Student Council President and somehow someway the willing girlfriend of Tony Stark. Jane was a friend of hers and had questioned her sanity about it many a time during the school day. No one really believed it at first considering she didn't seem like the type to put up with him, but then they all quickly realized that seemed to be what Tony liked about her. It was what made Jane feel safe picking fights with him, the fact that his girlfriend was the person who probably did it the most. It was also a generally believed fact the two had first met when Tony hired her to basically run his life- considering good practice for her to get into the business school she desired. Every problem he landed himself in she seemed to navigate him out of somehow, including a fight he almost got into with Jane's own boyfriend. No one had quite been able to prove it yet, and Rhodey as the only third party who would know kept considerably silent.

Tony rose from the lawn chair, dusting himself off. "All I'm trying to say, is this night seems to be particularly centered on you, Jane. As President of this club, I might recommend you look to help members going through rougher times than yourself as a true friend would." He gestured to another corner of the roof where Bruce Banner had isolated himself, shivering in his long-sleeve purple shirt as he stared out over the baseball and football fields. "You know how rough this summer was for him and I thought you'd choose to be a better friend about it."

"I know," Jane made clear, noticing Darcy had stopper flirting with the very uncomfortable freshman to make her way over. Fitz looked completely relieved at this development as he turned back to his friend Simmons and continued filling out his chart. "And I feel bad for him. It sucks to have your heart broken. I know from experience." She put a hand to her chest, holding back the pain she had long since moved on from. "But the past three years the entire club has been centered on what you and Bruce are interested in… because you picked everything we did." She was on a roll now, and kept going despite herself. He had officially riled her up. "And now maybe I do want to do something I'm interested in. And I should be able to. Because stars are awesome and in my opinion way better the robots or gamma radiation."

"But as President, I don't feel it's pragmatic to focus on something only one person truly enjoys. The others enjoy engineering; many of them focus on it. And Peter and Gwen are just as involved in radiation as Bruce is. Let me remind you we only have so many funds-"

"Let me remind you I didn't use any of our budget on this night. You have nothing to complain about to Dad, Stark. I merely talked to Fury and brought close to everything myself. So I'm sorry Bruce is in a funk and this might not be helping. I'm sorry if you're bored, he's sad, and there are no snacks like I promised. But maybe if everyone just thought on the fact that this comet won't be returning until 2061, they could find some excitement and enjoy what's going to happen tonight. Okay?"

"I for one happen to think that's pretty freaking cool," Darcy agreed, putting an arm around Jane in solidarity. "But then again, I found the fact that there was a new menu item for lunch today pretty cool as well. Despite the fact the shawarma ended up being even worse than it looked." Jane let out a long sigh; a little exasperated that this was who she had to back her up. Almost anyone might have been more useful. But she owed a lot to Darcy, strange a character as she may be. It was probably thanks to her she was even here at all. The girl had refused to give in to the social norms of ignoring Jane the rest of the club had in place and instead set up camp right beside her and her Astronomy project, helping her in any way she could. Darcy was a force of nature not to be denied, dragging her friend Peter into talking with Jane and then Gwen followed, opening her back up to the club again in a way. Stark hadn't quite been able to put her down the same way once Darcy Lewis had her say. So Jane put up with the little quirks and oddities, because in a lot of ways the girl was her best friend.

"Yeah, how about we just lay off her?" Gwen chimed in, adding her weight to matters. She usually liked to stay in the background, knowing Jane was fully capable of taking care of herself as she had been for years. When she spoke up, that meant it was over. It was the equivalent of Mom pulling the siblings apart and sending them up to their rooms. Jane and Tony had once continued to fight past Gwen's warning and it had not ended well for either of them. "If you're really that unhappy Tony, just leave. Or go be a good friend yourself and talk to Bruce. Jane, you don't need to defend yourself to him. Go back to your telescope and enjoy the evening."

Jane made her way back over indeed as Tony started towards Bruce, the two of them putting the needed space and distance between them. She replaced her eye back through the lens of her telescope while Tony spoke to Bruce a few moments, trying to bring his best friend out of the funk he was currently in. It didn't seem to be working though for what she overheard, the guy communicating is mere grunts. Bruce had barely spoken to anyone since the semester started it seemed, always staring off into the distance longingly instead. No one knew exactly what had happened with Natasha, they were pretty positive she broke it off though, but it seemed to have been pretty rough. Even Natasha was more quiet and withdrawn than usual, speaking only to Clint as opposed to the probably five other people she talked to. Whatever he said in those moments, it didn't seem to be enough as Bruce rose to his feet and made his way over to Jane.

"Nothing personal, but I think I'm going to head home for the night." Jane just nodded as she looked up at him, completely understanding the idea of needing some alone time after something like that. Especially from Tony Stark. She had boarded herself up in her room for nearly a week after Donald, listening to Owl City and eating Reese's like it was her job. Plus, Bruce was never the type who tried to hurt someone in any way. She knew it wasn't anything to do with sticking it to her and her love of stars in the slightest.

She clasped a hand on his shoulder, giving him her warmest smile. "Go ahead. We'll talk about it at the meeting next week. I'm sure Darcy will take some pictures. I appreciate you coming up here in the first place." She gave his shoulder a squeeze, watching sadly as he pulled away from her touch. "If you ever need anything Bruce, feel free to call me. I care about you and I'll help you get through this any way you need me to."

"Thanks Jane," was his only response before he left silently through the doorway. She watched him go before turning back to her telescope, glancing her watch to see they had about an hour and forty-five minutes left. She kept herself busy by moving over the constellations, identifying each and every one with an ease that came from years in her backyard. She got her first telescope when she was four and it had been the core of her being since she first looked through it. Nothing was going to stop her from solving the mysteries they held. Nothing was going to stop her from seeing Halley's Comet tonight.

She didn't see it happen, but Gwen told her pretty much the whole thing on the car ride to the hospital. Tony had made his way over to Peter, admiring the constellations his apprentice was making while Gwen made her way over to chat with Darcy. She turned back to say something to Peter when Tony gave him a manly thump on the back at something the kid had said. Only it was a little too hard, as Peter instantly lost his precarious balance on the roof and was sent tumbling over the edge of the building into the bushes two stories below him. He barely managed to even let out a cry before he hit the ground it happened so fast.

The effect was immediate on the group. Gwen led out a loud cry and ran to the edge, attracting everyone's attention. "Someone call 911!" she shouted, looking over desperately. "Peter! Peter!" Jane had made her way over by now, trying to take charge, just in time for Gwen to smack Tony in his chest and nearly send him over himself. "You idiot! You complete and total idiot! You might have killed him!" Darcy had pulled out her phone and was talking with someone as Gwen ran for the stairs, furious and frantic. Jane turned to see each and every eye was now on her and took a deep breath. She needed to channel her fearless leader mode right now.

"Guys, I think that's the end of our first field trip. You guys can head home and we'll keep you posted." With that, she was right behind Gwen and followed her down the stairs and out the hallway door to the worse for wear bushes. Gwen found Peter immediately and knelt by his side as he groaned, knowing well enough not to move him.

"Peter! Peter!" Tony was out the door a few seconds behind them, followed by Darcy who was still on the phone. "Peter! He's not responding! Peter, say something!"

"Yeah, he's awake but he's completely out of it," Darcy relayed over the phone. "That's right- Infinity High. You swear? They're on their way, they swear," she told everyone.

"Someone should call his Aunt May," Tony spoke up. "His cell phone should be in his pocket."

"We'll do that while you don't say another word. In fact, you should probably never talk again," Jane warned as Gwen dug the phone from jacket pocket. She was in tears now as Peter just let out the most guttural and painful of groans. She dialed in quickly only to hang up in frustration a moment later.

"It's her shift at the hospital," Gwen remembered, holding the phone against her head. "She won't have it on her." Jane took the phone from her as she leaned over her boyfriend and just kept whispering to him sweetly in the few minutes it took for the ambulance to arrive, wiping her eyes into her sweater and not caring in the slightest if her mascara smeared. The paramedics worked fast, loading Peter onto a stretcher and giving them a good look at how bad his arm looked- bone sticking out of it and all. It made Jane want to punch Stark in his face in a sudden rush of violence. "We need to follow them," Gwen told Jane, who had ridden over with her.

"I can drive," Jane insisted. Gwen just shook her head, getting herself under control as she made her way over to her baby blue car her parents had given her for her birthday. No one drove Gwen's car except her, trauma over her boyfriend be damned. Jane turned to face Darcy, who looked ready and willing to accept any orders given. "Can you stay here and clean up a bit? I'm sorry but we can't leave everything out or Fury will-"

"I'm on it," she agreed before Jane could work herself up too much. "Send me a pigeon," she requested with a wry smile, referring to their inside joke that had been made the first time they met when Jane insisted she didn't text because it wasn't personal.

"The swiftest bird I have," Jane agreed before handing her friend the key to get back inside. Darcy disappeared through the door with a last waving, leaving Jane with at least a very shameful looking Stark.

"I'm-"

"Just go home, Stark," Jane said with more venom than she perhaps meant. Looking back it seemed like three years and change worth of frustration and disappointment came out to be exact. "I think you've done enough tonight."

With those words, she left him to join a honking Gwen in the passenger seat of her car. She managed to keep her friend calm the whole drive over to the hospital as she babbled inane facts about the stars which were always on tap and held her hand tight as they sat in the waiting room. Darcy stopped by after about a half hour to drop off Jane's telescope and say that everything was taken care of in some way before apologizing they she had to head home. Neither of them said a word, just gave each other all the strength and support they could muster. Jane just tried to keep her thoughts on Peter being okay, trying to keep her mind from drifting to thoughts of how she was going to miss the Comet. It wasn't the time for that. She was a better person than that.

Gwen had stepped away for a moment to freshen up in the restroom when to Jane's utter disbelief Tony Stark entered the waiting room and made his way over to her. "For a genius you are a complete and utter moron," she hissed as he stopped in front of her. "Get the hell out of here before Gwen sees you. Or worse, Aunt May."

"Is he alright?"

"No idea. I think they found his Aunt May when he came in, but they haven't been out to tell us anything." Jane covered her nose and mouth with her hands, trying to steady her breathing and not cause a scene in the middle of the waiting room. "Do you realize how scared she must have been after what happened with-"

"I know, Foster," Tony cut her off harshly. His anger at himself was clear. "I get it. I might have just... Peter might not be the same and it's all my fault. I know that. I can't stop thinking about that. I went home like you said, but I just keep replaying the moment over and over. Bruce wasn't picking up his phone so I came here because I will not be able to sleep tonight if I don't find out what happens. Alright?"

"You still shouldn't let Gwen see you," Jane fired, withdrawing some of her anger after his comments. "She'll kick your ass."

"I know," Tony agreed completely. "How much longer until the Comet?"

Jane knew the answer- fifteen minutes- but she kept it to herself, feeling this was a trap of some kind. She shouldn't be thinking about that now and she knew it. "The Comet doesn't matter right now. Peter is hurt and he is what we should be focusing on. No one in their right mind would be obsessing over some ball of gas right now."

"But you are," Tony saw right through her. She just looked down, completely ashamed at the fact. "It's alright. It means a lot to you- the science of it."

"It does," she admitted, surprised at how good Stark seemed to be at reading her. Gwen had once told her that she and Stark were basically twins in a lot of ways with how passionate they were- they just focused it on different outlets and that's why they fought all the time. She had always shrugged it off as ludicrous, but in this moment she couldn't help but wonder.

Her train of thought was halted by Aunt May emerging from the ER doors and making her way over the instant she spotted the two. Jane was instantly on her feet, pulling the sweet woman in for a hug. "He's okay. He's going to be okay," the woman choked out, hand clutched to her chest. Jane felt herself let out a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding. Tony seemed to accept this and ducked out with a determined expression before May really registered he had even been there.

Gwen came back a moment later and was instantly in tears again as May pulled her in for a long hug. "He just broke his right arm and leg. They were worried about a concussion but he seems fine. He's asking for you, dear." Gwen nodded as she wiped her eyes and tried to appear presentable, allowing May to lead her back through the doors without another word.

So Jane sat in the uncomfortable hospital chair of the ER waiting room, staring at her hands in her lap with her telescope in its box beside her. She hugged her jacket closer around her, embracing the warmth and comfort it gave her. There had been a time when she was really uncomfortable and afraid to wear it, afraid of the whole concept of dating Thor. Things like the two of them only worked in the movies. But here they were two years into things and he hadn't run off yet- seemed even more in love with her than he had ever been because she was the smartest girl he knew and not in spite of it. So she wore the jacket now more often than not, managing to overcome the mental blocks slowly that threatened her and their relationship.

She didn't know how long Gwen would be here and considered possibly calling Thor for a ride. He might not be too excited to wake up this later with early morning practice tomorrow, but he was always willing to come to Jane's rescue if she needed it. She came first and it meant an unbelievable amount to her, thus why she was so reluctant to call him now. She'd just wait, however long it took and just be tired at school tomorrow. God, Fury was going to insist on a meeting with her. They may never be able to do anything again. She glanced at the clock- nine minutes until the Comet.

She was dragged from her thoughts and wallowing by someone literally pulling her to her feet. A hand was locked firmly around her wrist and another was grabbing her case. She looked up to see it was none other than the person she wanted to see the very least right now. She pulled her wrist away and crossed her arms. "Leave me alone, Stark. I'm really not in the mood."

"Come on, Foster," he commanded, grabbing her wrist again and starting to drag her out of the waiting room. The usual smugness seemed to be missing from his voice, here replaced with a sense of urgency. He wasn't letting her pull away this time, even dragging her sneakers against the pavement once they got outside and she tried to stop their forward progress.

"Stark, whatever the hell you're doing-"

"I know it's near impossible, but just shut your mouth for a moment." He pulled her around the side of the hospital, away from the lights of the Emergency Room towards a door covered in shadow and darkness. No one was around as he looked either way before swiping a badge and opening the door that led back into the building. "I decided I needed to souvenir from one of the nurses," he shrugged and Jane's raised eyebrow. "It was in her pocket and that was improper protocol so she deserved it. Now follow me." He was pulling her again, this time ducking and dodging down hospital corridors they were clearly not meant to be in before finding what he was looking for- a door that led to a staircase. Jane followed him just out of pure worry of being caught and ending up in trouble- she was not going down without taking him with her.

It was a literal sprint up the stairs at the pace he was setting for the two of them, going in circles again and again before he came to another door her forced open with a gust of cold win hitting them. He stepped out onto the flat roof and began setting up the telescope as Jane just stared at him, unsure what exactly what was going on. He glanced at his watch before looking at her. "Foster, we only have two minutes. I have no clue how to get this thing to work." He gestured to the telescope, which was now in the stand backwards and pointed in the completely wrong direction.

She shook her head free of the cobwebs in it and sprang into action as it clicked together, quickly assembling her telescope and pointing it in the proper expanse of sky. Stark just hovered next to her, hands in his pocket as his eyes looked in that direction as well. Her heart was literally pounding in her chest with excitement as she waited, eye pressed against the eyepiece. It was actually happening. She was actually going to see Halley's Comet, something that connected so many Astronomers together. It was like standing amongst giants, feeling all the great people of the past there with her. She almost forgot her present company altogether.

When is streaked across the sky, she stopped breathing. It was more beautiful than she could have imagined, could have dreamed. It almost seemed to set the entire sky on fire, making it more bright and brilliant than she had seen before. The moments seemed to linger for an eternity, but it was still over much too soon. Soon the sky was dark again except for the usual stars she could name by heart. But she couldn't stop the smile that was on her face as she pulled away, completely in awe of what she had just witnessed.

"Did you make a wish?" Stark's voice came from beside her, a little more back to his usual self. "Because I did. I know I can't say what it was, but it involved a hot tub."

Jane wanted to roll her eyes and quip sarcastically back at him. Or maybe even hit him for the roller coaster that was this entire evening. She really did. But maybe seeing something so full to the brim with science brought out her better nature as she turned to face him. "Thank you." Clearly he had been expecting those words even less than she had, because they both seemed shocked about the turn of the moment, taking a step back from one another. She thought that was maybe the first nice thing she had ever said about Tony Stark, and she had the misfortune of saying it to his face. She buried her head in her hands, completely mortified and ready to never hear the end of it.

"Well, I am the one who ruined this whole thing," she heard instead, looking up to see he was deliberately looking past her and trying to appear cool. "Breaking into a hospital seemed like the least I could do... since only you could be so excited about a ball of gas in the sky." She knew he had to tack that end part on, but it didn't seem heartfelt in the slightest. So she didn't take it heart for once.

"It was pretty amazing."

"I guess it was if that's what you're into," he shrugged. She started packing her telescope back up as he pulled out his vibrating cell phone. "You here, Jarvis?" he asked into it. "Great. I'll be right down. Down because I'm on the roof." The person on the other end said something that made him roll his eyes- it was visible even through the sunglasses. "It's a long story and you can lecture me on the way home, alright? Sure you can tell Dad about my attitude- he won't care and you know it." Jane just tried to keep her focus on the telescope, clearly hearing the conversation but trying to look like she wasn't as her brunette hair whipped about in the wind. "Hey, one second. Foster."

Jane looked up at him to see he had one hand over his phone. "Stacy's your ride home right?" She nodded and he went back to his conversation. "We're going to drop someone off as well, Jarvis. Well I kind of owe her one... well many if you consider that she puts up with me I guess," he added with a smile. "Okay? Okay." With that, he hit a button and slid the smart phone back in his pocket, watching as Jane rose to her feet. "Jarvis is going to give you a ride home so you don't have to wait."

"You didn't have to-"

"It's fine. Let's get going, because it's freezing and not of all us are wearing the coats of our giant boyfriends." The two of them started back down the stairs, trying to be as quiet as they could in case someone was coming- Security had to have seen them somewhere by now logically.

"You know, I'm sure you could get a football boy if you wanted," Jane quipped as they made their way through the halls. "Then you'd have a jacket like this yourself."

"I think I'm going to keep Pepper," he said with a fond smile, betraying just how much he liked her. It was odd to see Tony Stark humbled and star struck, but that was clearly what he was right now. "You two are friends right?"

"We hang out at school. I've never really done things with her-"

"Do you want to go with her to the movies this weekend? We're going on a date and I'm seeing Mission Impossible with Rhodey while she's seeing A Walk in the Woods. But she's getting real tired of going by herself, so maybe you could join her. I'd pay and everything."

"I thought you said it was a date."

"It is. We're going out to dinner after. You could join us for that too- invite Thor. I'm sure the big guy would be happy to swing around."

"But how is it a date if you're going to different movies followed by dinner with other people?" Jane asked, still completely baffled. "If anything, it sounds like you're dating Rhodey."

"Do you want the free movie or not, Foster?"

"Yeah," she agreed instantly as they finally reached the door that led them outside. She wasn't about to figure out their dating life anytime soon, so she might as well forget it. "Yeah. It'll be fun to hang out with Pepper outside of school." They approached a limo that took up two spaces in the parking lot in silence for a moment before she changed topics. "So what are you going to do with Peter's broken arm and leg? He won't be able to do your dirty work for a while."

"I know. I feel bad for the kid though. I'll visit tomorrow and let him know he's getting Workman's Comp for the entire time he's in the cast. I'll make it worth his while."

Jane laughed. "He'll make more when he isn't working for you then when he is. He might go throw himself off another roof." They arrived at the car and Tony held the door open for her with a polite smile, clearly in much better mood than earlier as Jane was. Maybe the Comet had been worth something to him after all, though she knew she'd never get him to admit that. But maybe she hadn't shared the most magical event she'd witnessed of the night sky with the absolute worst person. He was a fellow scientist after all, and maybe he didn't understand this passion but it was clear he understood the idea of the passion. He just had it for something different and that was quite alright. Jane didn't know how she'd manage if she was competing for employment against Stark. I mean she'd win of course, no doubt, but it would require so much more effort she supposed. And maybe she needed to have more respect for his, though that didn't mean she was letting him completely off the hook by any means.

"Tomorrow thing are going back to normal, right?" she questioned. "Because I don't know if I can handle you being nice to me all the time. Your smile kind of makes me uncomfortable just looking at it."

"Oh, absolutely. That club would be driven into the ground if you weren't busting my balls all the time. Why else do you think I keep you around? You have to realize I mess with you half the time because you're practically the only one it's fun to mess with. Plus we need one crazy star-gazer in the mix to balance out all of us tech aficionados. Though that Comet might not have been the worst way to spend an evening ever for a glowing piece of rock."

"Never mention me and you balls in the same sentence again," she ordered. He smirked, but she pointed at him. "I mean it, Stark."

"Sure, Foster. Now get in before Halley's Comet comes again." She walked past him to enter, but not before making the hasty decision to turn and give him a quick hug as she did so.

"Thank you for not ruining completely everything tonight and managing to not be the absolute worst to see the comet with. And if you ever tell anyone about that, I will bust your balls for real. Got it?" He gave a swift nod and chuckle, clearly amused at her threat instead of intimidated. She climbed in and he followed right behind her. "On the way back, we can go over what you're going to tell Fury tomorrow."

"I have to talk to him?"

"Yeah, you do. You are the President after all and all about the responsibility of leading."

"But you're the Co-President. You should at least be there with me. You know he doesn't like me after the whole Laser incident and it could have really happened to anyone. If I go in there alone, I might not come back out again. And that means no movie for you this weekend."

For once, Jane decided not to argue. She merely shook her head and stared out the window as they started out of the lot. "I guess we're in this together then, President Stark."

"I could think of worse partners in crime honestly, President Foster."

XXX

 _Tune in next time for That Time in Infinity High… When Steve Tried Out._

 _Thanks for reading!_


	3. When Steve Tried Out

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 **That Time at Infinity High**

 _When Steve Tried Out_

 _Avenger Freshman Year- Winter_

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 **Wednesday Afternoon**

Steve had pretty much nothing going for him in his high school career. Scratch that. He had Bucky.

"You know, staring at that sign won't make you magically become him." Steve Rogers pulled his eyes from the poster he had been staring at much longer than he cared to admit, turning to focus on the voice he almost knew as well as his own. He offered his best shrug on the subject, quickly searching his mind to come up with the proper retort as he faced his best friend.

"I'm glad. Otherwise the posters with the cheerleaders you always stare at would lead to some pretty interesting developments." He then turned back to the poster in question as he knew what Bucky was doing right now- rolling his eyes with a sigh. It had been pretty much the same routine since the two of them were kids. The man was just unable to fully appreciate the depth of his wit. "I was just thinking about this afternoon, really. Nothing important."

Then came another type of sigh Steve had become really familiar with these past years. It was the concerned sigh, the one that was necessary whenever Bucky thought Steve was about to do something reckless and end up getting himself killed. It had happened more often than it probably should have, but Steve had never been one to just sit by and let things happen. He needed to be in the thick of it and take action in ways he was capable of… and sometimes in ways he was not. Though which category this endeavor fell into landed on different sides of the coin with the conversations the two had been having the past few weeks. "Steve…"

The poster in question was advertising the sport Infinity High was perhaps the most famous for. There was no doubt that football was important in the fall, especially with some of the freshman they had this year making things fresh, but it almost seemed to be the warm-up act for the big event in the spring as a way to tide the fans over. And that sport was baseball. The posters for try-outs had littered the hallways since before winter break, depicting the team's current stars in moments of action and telling anyone who passed that they had a chance to be a part of it. This one in particular depicted junior "Dum Dum" Dugan cracking a ball so hard with his bat it almost looked like it would break. It almost gave the air that anyone could be like him with how effortless he was making it look.

But Bucky had taken to reminding him that it wasn't since Steve had decided to try out. The two of them played baseball quite a bit together growing up, mainly to help Bucky practice for the Little League he was in. Steve had been his partner-in-crime by making sure he was in top form, managing to decently keep up with him. He was always willing to come over and catch Bucky's throws or throw the ball from an embarrassingly close distance so he could hit it. It was their routine that Bucky was on the team to represent both his and Steve's hard work and training. And high school baseball in the fall had looked to be the same with the two fielding pitches even when Bucky's front lawn was covered with snow to make sure he was ready for this. Bucky was going to make the team without a doubt and Steve was sure that by senior year he would be cheering on his best friend as Captain and leader of the whole operation. He was that much of a natural.

But then something had just hit him when he caught a pitch the evening before school started back up- try-outs being the week after. He was tired of sitting on the sidelines and letting Bucky represent him and his work. Steve wanted to represent himself out on the field and actually possibly be a part of a team for once. He wanted to participate rather than sitting on the sidelines with a sign every game, even if he just warmed the bench.

So Steve was going to try out for the baseball team.

Bucky was not enthused at the idea. Not that he wanted the glory all to himself and keep Steve locked up in a closet for only his use. No. It was more to do with the fact that it was statistically very likely that Steve was going to end up getting himself very injured out there- something Bucky was always keen to avoid. They had been arguing over the topic for close to a week, Bucky reminding Steve of his asthma and the heart palpitations that would crop up and nearly scare his best friend to death. Plus there was the astigmatism but that had been corrected by contacts years ago so Steve had easily been able to swat that away. The others… the doctors had said he would probably grow out of them eventually. And eventually didn't look to mean this afternoon. Added to that was the fact that he was generally just a very scrawny kid who couldn't run very far or very fast without losing his breath. But Steve wasn't planning on letting that stop him from trying.

"We've talked about this, Bucky. I'm going to do it," he told his best friend with confidence. "If I make it, I make it. If I don't… well then there's always next year. "I'll just keep practicing and come back even better."

"Or you'll get really hurt and end up in the hospital," Bucky countered, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "And I'll be close to the only one who visits you and laments at your bedside what an absolute idiot you were."

Steve laughed as the two started down the Science wing towards their last class of the day. "How can that be when we both know all the stupid's with you?" Bucky ended up shoving Steve into the classroom and the two went to take their seats in the second row after grabbing the first lab handout of the semester from Dr. Cho's desk. Most of the class had already filled in and paired off the way things had been first semester- Banner and Stark were practically done with the lab despite the fact it hadn't begun, Romanoff and Barton sat in the back row with their feet on the desk, Strange was doing a magic trick with a very unamused Danvers staring at him, and Murdock was quietly reading to himself in the row behind them. It looked like his lab partner thankfully hadn't showed up to torment him yet.

Steve and Bucky had naturally partnered up last semester as they did with every class they shared. It was something that had decided pretty early on into their friendship. Bucky was close to Steve's only friend and they certainly were the oldest for one another. The two had even met before preschool, Steve offering to push Bucky in a swing on the local playground. One push that sent Bucky close to nowhere had somehow managed to cause him to hit Steve on the way back and send him to the ground crying. From there on out, Bucky always pushed Steve and history was made. He had introduced himself as James Buchanan Barnes, which Steve had decided to shorten merely to Bucky for his four year old sake. Steve almost sometimes felt like he didn't need anyone else as long as he had Bucky by his side. Sure he was nice to everyone, but Bucky was the only one he was really close to any fashion.

The last three members of the class made their way in just before the bell rang. The first two were Hope Van Dyne and Peggy Carter, who looked just as beautiful as she did every day. The two of them seemed to be on the run from the third member, Gilmore Hodge, who was a junior star of the baseball team somehow still in Freshman Science. He was also a complete and utter jerk in Steve's opinion, tormenting all the freshmen he was among because he could. He had been flirting with Peggy all year, but she seemed to want to have absolutely nothing to do with him- which Steve was quite in favor of. Peggy Carter, though they had only had one conversation, was in his opinion the greatest girl in this school and quite possibly ever. She was far too spectacular to lower herself to end up with a guy like Hodge.

"She'll be at try-outs today," Bucky broke through Steve's thoughts, knowing very well how infatuated his best friend was over probably the most unattainable girl in school. She had even shot Bucky himself down without a second thought.

"Really?" he asked with a little too much enthusiasm.

"Yeah. Imagine what she'll think if it goes horribly." Steve shot Bucky a look, refusing to get into this discussion again as Hodge moved behind them to the only poor kid who had been left to be his partner. Even Carol had jumped into the arms of the school's resident weirdo rather than be stuck dealing with him on a weekly basis. So the task had fallen to Matt Murdock and Hodge never let up on the guy in the slightest despite the fact Matt might be the reason Hodge could pass this year. Steve had several times had to grit his teeth to the voices behind him. Bucky made sure he never personally stepped in, taking care of the situation himself with a glare or a few words. Still, it never quite seemed to end and Matt still had another semester to look forward to.

"Why isn't everything set up?" Hodge questioned harshly as he slammed his book down on the lab table. Matt flinched, particularly sensitive to loud noises. "Everyone else is."

"I'm sorry, but I can't quite run and grab the things from the cabinets because I don't know-"

"You are so useless," he grumbled, his stool scraping as he went for the cabinet in the back. "You're lucky if I tell you the right things to mix in this time." Matt just let out a sigh and returned to his book, clearly unwilling to turn this into a fight. Last semester he ended up in the Nurse's Office covered in burns because Hodge had 'accidently' made him mix the wrong things together. He ended up there again a week later when the Bunsen burner had 'accidently' been in his path when he was reaching for something. Fury really wanted Hodge to go down, the whole school knew it, but unfortunately no one else had seen the incidents until Matt had let out a small cry of pain. The guy was really good at internalizing it all honestly.

Steve started to look through the lab, praying Dr. Cho would be in sooner rather than later so this could end. His knee was bouncing up and down, itching for him to turn around and confront this asshole for picking on probably one of the nicest guys on the class. But Bucky was looking at him now, and all it took was a glance from Steve to make his friend shake his head and make the message clear. Like usual, his best friend wasn't too keen on the idea of Steve starting a fight he wasn't going to win. Hodge had pretty close to a hundred pounds on him so there was no chance of it ending well.

But then he heard the sound of something clattering to the floor followed by someone hitting the floor with a grunt. Everyone looked to see Matt had somehow ended up on the ground, and the stool he had previously been occupying was now on its side. Hodge was putting on his best concerned face, but everyone easily put together what had happened. Danvers looked ready to jump up and punch Hodge straight across his smug face and Barton had even begun to rise with probably the full intent of kicking his ass. But Steve was closer, and before Bucky to get a firm grasp on his arm he was standing in front of the bully.

"Move." Hodge just blinked at him like he wasn't there, making him hands curl into fists. "I said move."

"What the hell did you just say to me?!" He stood up now, clearly displaying how much taller and bigger he was in the hopes of scaring Steve. But Steve refused to be scared. He wasn't just sitting by any longer and letting this happen to Matt. He was going to stop this bully once and for all no matter what the personal cost.

"I said move, Hodge." It came to him off the top of his head and he ran with it. "Matt's going to be my lab partner this semester, okay? So move because you're not hurting him again."

Matt spoke up from where he was gripping the lab table and rising slowly, glasses askew on his face as he gave his best fake smile. "You don't-"

"He's my lab partner, Rogers, so I can do whatever I want."

"No, you won't. I'm not letting you bully him anymore. So you will move and let me sit there, otherwise the second Dr. Cho walks in here I'm going to have you sent right to Fury. That'll be your third strike and by my knowledge of baseball that puts you out of the game." The entire room was tense as they watched the confrontation, some worried it might to come to blows while other looked very excited at the fact. Bucky was standing beside him now, staring down Hodge as well and giving his best friend some much needed support. The whole room seemed to be staring him down and most almost ready to join if Steve needed them for physical blows- except Strange who was staring at ceiling for some reason. But you could never trust Strange to follow the crowd on anything. He wasn't much of a team player.

Hodge could do basic math, and he could see he was greatly outnumbered by a lot of people who would back the idea of him throwing the first punch and might be able to overwhelm him if he did. He could already sense Barton sneaking up behind him as quietly as could be. "Fine," he growled in his most menacing voice as he rose from his stool and made his way around to where Steve had previously been, sitting in possibly the loudest way possible. With a nod at Bucky, Steve then took his cue to step around desk and help guide Matt back down into his seat before taking his own.

"Thanks Steve. You didn't have to stick your neck out for me like that," Matt was clearly grateful as he straightened his trademark red sunglasses. "Between you and me, I could take him with my eyes closed." Steve wasn't sure if it was okay to laugh at that and an awkward moment passed. Truthfully, this was probably the most he and Matt had ever talked. They both seemed to keep to themselves in a lot of ways, just trying to make it through four years of being the bottom of the food chain.

"No problem," he answered sincerely just as Dr. Cho came through the door and the bell rang. She was notorious for getting caught up in her own work and arriving at class late... also making it impossible when it came to getting homework back. It took close to forever, leaving a lot of people completely stranded on the test because they had never been corrected before then. But she made up for it in partial credit that managed to keep everyone afloat. It was pretty difficult to fail her class, though Hodge demonstrated not impossible. It also made for a shaper learning curve when you moved onto Dr. Pym the year after for Chemistry who was pretty much the hardest grader Infinity High had. He made some kid cry with his first test this year apparently.

"Alright, class, you know how this works and second semester we're going to try to work more independently. I will still be here if you have any questions, alright? Get to work and the report is due for lab next week." With that, everyone was off- Tony and Bruce starting their own experiment from the looks of it.

And despite the glare from Bucky every so often as Hodge made things pretty unbearable and argued with him on every point, Steve found himself having a good time. Matt was pretty smart and easy to talk to once you got adjusted to his style of humor. One just had to keep in mind that he was joking and wanted you to laugh about the things he was saying. He wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable. And at first Steve was a little controlling and perhaps a little too descriptive in where to find things. "I know what third one from the right means. You don't have to confirm that I can count." "I pour myself a cup of coffee every morning, Steve. I can pour this just fine." "Listen, just let me know if I'm about to blow my eyebrows off. Otherwise, I think I've got this." But he never snapped at Steve, always trying to seem grateful rather than annoyed. And slowly, Steve let up and trusted Matt just like he was trusting Steve to keep the Bunsen burner out of his way.

"So I can't help but have overheard, you know since my hearing's so excellent... and you're right in front of me, that you're trying out for baseball today," Matt struck up conversation as they worked.

"Yeah. I know I probably won't make it, but I feel like I'm going to be disappointed with myself years down the line if I never tried to do the things I want. I'm sure you understand that."

"Better than you think. I'm pretty used to door in my face... sometimes literally." This was the first one that managed to get a chuckle out of Steve and quickly made him feel like an awful person the moment afterwards. Matt had just laughed at his sudden turn-about. "In fact, I was thinking about trying out myself."

Steve could not stop his eyes from widening. "Seriously?"

Matt just looked his way, snorting. "No. Though they tell you that you are capable of anything you want to be, I do think that might be one of the limits." They both finished their experiment in a moment of silence before he spoke again. "But, who know, I could be awesome for all everybody knew."

"I could see it." With that the bell rang and everyone started to pack up and put things away. "You go on ahead. I've got this part since you did close to everything." He knew it probably took Matt twice as long to get packed up and out the door as everyone else and he didn't want him to miss his bus. "You have a great day."

"I was actually thinking of heading to the baseball field. Provide some moral support. It's the least I can do for you since I'm not going to hate and fear Wednesdays for the rest of the semester."

Steve smiled, but then quickly remembered Matt would need verbal confirmation. "I really appreciate that."

"Plus, everyone knows all the cute girls show up every year to look you all over. Maybe I can seem more obtainable in the crowd amongst them." And with the bright smile he flashed, Steve decided that he and Matt were going to be friends. And with that friendship came the promise that he was going to try to make sure Matt didn't end so miserable and tormented he stopped being himself again. Because Matt seemed like a pretty cool guy when someone gave him the opportunity.

Bucky met him over by the sink where they both started scrubbing. "So... it looks like my semester is going to suck thanks to you."

"I'm sorry, Bucky. But someone had to stand up for him. I hate that it even took me this long." Bucky just let out the third type of sigh, the one that meant that he didn't know why he sometimes put up with the guy next to him. Steve was really good at identifying his best friend's sighs really. "We're still partners in everything else, you know. It's just one class."

"You just had to go and play the hero, didn't you? Steve Rogers, never content to sit on the sidelines and let others do work for him." The two stood in comfortable silence for a moment before he hit Steve with his shoulder. "I kind of wanted to see Carol punch him though."

"Me too," Steve agreed.

"Me three," Carol agreed from beside them with a wink as they whipped around to look at her before walking away. Bucky finished before he did and gathered up his belongings.

"See you out on the field."

Bucky just looked at him for a moment. "Yeah. I guess I will. Just... think about it, Steve. For me and more importantly for yourself, okay?"

Steve was the last person in the room as he finished cleaning up the test tubes and beakers, or at least he thought so until he turned around and was delivered a winding blow to his chest. It was enough to knock him off his feet, unfortunately taking a few glass objects with him. Once on the floor his heart proceeded to spazz out as something so unexpected happening, beating erratically and causing him quite a bit of pain. He looked up through gritted teeth to see no other than Hodge.

"There's more where that came from," he threatened before retreating, leaving Steve to try and get his pathetic excuse for a heart under control. It took a few minutes but eventually he managed to steady his breathing enough to rise again, brushing the glass from his jeans and shirt. He hated to admit it, but that had really taken a lot out of him. And that had just been a singular punch. Imagine if someone crashed into him while they were running bases. He probably would end up in the hospital like Bucky said. Still, he shouldered his backpack and made his way downstairs into the History hallway, pausing at the glass doors that led out to the field.

Maybe Bucky was right about this.

It wasn't going to stop him though.

"Steven!" Steve turned at the strong German accent to see his absolute favorite teacher here walking up to greet him. Dr. Erskine taught Western Civilization and was by far one of the best teachers there was. He just seemed to take such personal investment in what he was doing and teaching to a level Steve hadn't really seen before. He was the only one he let call him by his full name, not correcting him the first day because of how much he seemed to put behind the word he hoped to live up to. "I was just heading out to the field myself. I was so glad when I saw your name on the tryout list. It was unexpected, but when I thought about it not that unexpected at all."

"You saw... I thought Coach Phillips ran the baseball team?"

"Oh, he does. But I serve as Assistant Coach because it is good to be involved with a sport when you don't quite have tenure yet. It makes you seem more valuable." He walked past Steve and held the glass door open, all kinds of papers under his arms. "Come on before we miss it."

"Absolutely, Dr. Erskine," he followed him out the door. He knew Coach Phillips was notoriously ruthless when it came to today, pushing people until a lot of them honestly broke. He ran ROTC and had made the curriculum to the class honestly second to none with how real he treated everything. It also drove kids away like no one's business as well though. But knowing Dr. Erskine was there somehow made that seem a lot less intimidating, like he would have someone who was rooting for him rather than against him out there.

"As I was saying, I'm quite glad you decided to do this Steven. I think you have something that this team has been sorely lacking these past few years to put us over the top. Hydra Academy has been giving us quite the run-around these past few years."

"Really?"

"Naturally. We need people like you, Steven." With that, the two reached the field where a variety of people were already running bases. Coach Phillips stood off to one side examining a piece of paper with his current player on the bench- including Hodge and "Dum Dum" himself. Peggy was in the bleachers as had been promised with a very bored looking Hope. Matt was there as well...already flirting with a girl and winning her over by the look of it. "Now go show them what you're made of."

Steve took off with a nod and fell into a run next to Bucky, who looked slightly surprised but no very to see him, joining the others in their warm-ups and ignoring all the stares he felt were being thrown his way from just about everyone there. He certainly stood out among the group, that's for sure.

"Alright! Line up!" Everyone fell in line as Phillips stepped forward, nose still buried in his paper. "Step forward when I call your name. James Barnes." Bucky did so with a smile, winning over some girls as they cheered. Phillips just rolled his eyes and nodded at him. "Gabe Jones." Another kid stepped forward to a nod and it continued down the line. "Jim Morita. James Falsworth. Sam Wilson. Jacques Dernier. Steve Rogers." With that, Steve took his step forward. Phillips looked up and went to nod when he looked back up again in shock before turning to Erskine. "What is this?"

"I'm sorry," Erskine questioned, clearly seeing no problem.

"I told you to look over the list and screen them beforehand," Phillips barked.

Erskine nodded. "And I did." They both just stared at each other for a long tense moment before Phillips finally seemed to give in the slightest, knowing nothing could be done now.

"Fine. But he's your responsibility is we need to call an ambulance." Steve heard a few chuckles from the crowd, but did his best to square his shoulders and just keep facing forward with his head held high. He was going to show them all. "Alright, we will do several activities today. If you don't complete them all, then you should not expect to have any part of being on this team. Everyone find a partner and start throwing drills!"

And so it began. Steve threw back and forth with Bucky before the group was timed running bases- he tried to ignore the look Phillips gave Erskine when he was done with his turn. They played several positions, working together with the current team to see what kind of team they shaped up to be. No one threw to Steve because they seemed worried what might happen if they did given how worn out he already looked. But he kept pushing, never taking a moment longer to rest than anyone else did. This was a test and he was going to pass it, no matter that no one here really believed in him at all except the one Assistant Coach who kept offering a smile. He did his best to block everyone out and just focus on dialing into whatever Erskine wanted from him and showing it to Phillips. He was going to prove himself and leave nothing out on this field if he could help it.

The final task of the afternoon was everyone had to get ten hits of the starting pitcher, Hodge naturally. Some people had left the crowd by this time, but those who hadn't got into this event more than any other, letting out a series of whoops and cheers every time the bat cracked in success. It was tradition in these parts that would be continued whenever a home run was achieved in games- the Infinity High Howl. It was so special to this school, up there with touching the founder's nose, that the team itself was lovingly called the Howling Commandos by close to everyone. Including the opposition.

Steve was up towards the end of the line, desperately trying to ignore how he was struggling with the weight of the bat and that quite a few were chucking about it. He just stared down Hodge and waited for the moment he had experienced so many times with Bucky.

The first pitch went by before he could even register that it had.

"Go Steve!" a shout came from the crowd as he readied for the second one. Matt- his one fan. "You've got this buddy!"

The second he managed to clip. It was a foul ball, but it was a hit of some kind. Phillips didn't look very impressed though. And no one howled.

He managed eight more of the caliber in about twenty pitches. Everyone was muttering to one another, some clearly laughing. But that all came to a halt when with a glint in his eye, Hodge threw a ball towards the dug out in what was a tradition to spook the recruits on Phillip's part. He wasn't aiming to hit anyone but the wall behind them. Everyone who wasn't a freshman had been waiting for it. What they hadn't expected was for Steve Rogers to react instantly and get himself between the ball and its destination. It hit him right in the stomach and knocked him flat on his back with a gasp. Everyone was shouting in alarm then- one girl let out a cry when it happened. Even Hodge looked alarmed.

Erskine was at Steve's side instantly with Bucky right behind him, the two of them able to heft him back onto his feet with ease where he failed alone. The wind was completely knocked out of him and he was close to hyperventilating, breathing in short wheezes and gasps. "I'll grab his inhaler," Bucky said before taking off for everyone's bags at a run.

"Okay, Steven, let's get you to the dugout and-"

Steve pulled away, shaking his head. "I... I need to... need to hit... one more..."

"Steven, you've been injured."

"One more..." he insisted, forcing himself through the pain to shoulder the bat once again. Bucky just stood by third with the inhaler, looking at him like he was the biggest idiot there was. The lack of breathing was also starting to make him painfully aware of how much the rest of his body hurt from all this. But it was just one more. He could manage one more. He'd managed nine more than he had been expecting so far.

Hodge didn't seem to know whether to do it or not, but a nod from Phillips caused him to square his shoulder and wind up. The entire crowd had now hushed, all sitting on the edge of their seats as they waited for what happened next. Peggy was holding Hope's hand but she wouldn't tell Steve that until years later. Matt was just listening for the sound, girl completely ignored now for the moment.

Hodge threw. Steve swung. The bat cracked. It went right to first and would have been an immediate out.

But he had hit it.

He nearly fell over from the effort when he heard the howl. It was led by Matt but soon everyone joined at the top of their lungs, cheering Steve on for what he had just done. "Dum Dum" and the rest of the team were shouting at the top of their lungs. The whole tide of the crowd had turned and were now nothing but ecstatic for the small kid on the field of giants. They were the loudest howls of the whole day and went longer than anyone else who had batted and were really on the level of a home run. Erskine just watched with a smile on his face that made Steve smile with pride. He even caught a glimpse of Peggy and it was enough to nearly make his heart leap out of his chest.

Bucky reached him and handed him the inhaler as they walked off. "You never know when to quit, do you?"

"Nope," he wheezed before taking a puff and nearly falling on the bench. Wilson was stepping up now, cocky smile on his lips. But he gave Steve a salute before he readied for his first hit, and Steve made sure to salute him right back in respect as well.

Once everyone had gone and they were dismissed with the knowledge the list would be posted tomorrow, Erskine managed to get Steve's attention before he left. "I'm sorry I wasn't all those thing you said, Dr. Erskine. I tried though and they can't take that away from me."

He just clasped Steve's shoulder. "Steven, you were more than I expected. Whatever happens tomorrow you must promise me one thing. That you will stay who you are. Not a perfect baseball player, but a good kid."

Steve nodded. "I promise." 

XXX

 **Thursday Morning**

Steve pretty much didn't sleep the entire night, unable to shut off his brain and ignore the throbbing of the two new bruises on his chest and stomach. He let out a hiss of pain as he got dressed and sprinted to the bus stop to meet Bucky. He was practically bouncing up and down the whole way to school, annoying the best friend who was sitting next to him and swore he would make him walk to school if he kept this up. He was expecting everything and nothing, just content that he had done his best the day before but of course being driven mad with not knowing how it went. He would be content with whatever the answer was as long as he had one.

The two of them sprinted to the list, not even stopping at their lockers first. Bucky's name was on top of course with several others. Steve took a deep breath, preparing himself, when he felt Bucky nudge him harder than he really thought necessary. Then he saw it, at the very bottom and he swore a size smaller font than the others, was his name. Words could not describe his absolute glee as Bucky let out a cheer for the both of them. "We did. You did it. You actually did it."

Bucky then went to go to back to their lockers, but Steve wanted to do something first. He walked over to the gym and entered the office of Coach Phillips after a few knocks. He didn't even get to open his mouth before Phillips spoke up.

"You don't need to thank me because it wasn't my idea," he growled, completely deflating the mood. "I don't know what the hell Erskine's big plan was with all of this, but he shoved you down my throat until I took you on just for the number. I don't have any plans on letting you play if I can help it with what happened yesterday- you nearly did end up in an ambulance. You're not cut out for this kid- you're not strong enough."

Steve just took it before actually managing a smile. "Well, it looks like I'll just have to prove you wrong." And with that, he left the office before he could hear any more and get upset. Phillips wasn't going to ruin this for him. He was going to find and thank the real person that mattered- not put up with this. This was going to take time and effort to build a relationship and it was a good thing Steve was ready for both of those things.

As he made his way to Erkine's first class, he nearly ran into Peggy herself. He managed to veer out of the way at the last moment, but not before going completely red almost at the site of her. She looked just as perfect as she had yesterday and she was actually smiling at him. Like not in general. At him.

"I saw," she spoke in that flawless English accent. "Congratulations Steve."

"Th-thanks," he managed, before she continued down the hallway. He watched her go, still rooted in his spot even when she was out of sight. "Peggy Carter just spoke to me. Best day ever."

Maybe he had more than he thought.

He had Bucky. He had baseball. He had Erskine. He had a new lab partner. He had a sentence from Peggy Carter.

Maybe things were going to be different from here on out.

He hoped so.

XXX

 _Tune in next time for:_

 _That Time in Infinity High... When Clint Stole Back His Skateboard_


	4. When Clint Stole Back His Skateboard

**That Time in Infinity High**

 _When Clint Stole Back His Skateboard_

 _Avengers Sophomore Year- Spring_

XXX

Clint Barton had mellowed out significantly in his old age he had to say. Once upon a time he would have been eager to pick a fight with someone for merely saying "Huh?" in his presence because he was positive the asshole was making fun of him. He would throw the first punch without hesitation, even though the asshole was maybe just a douche who always had music blaring through his ancient headphones when you tried to ask him if he did his part of the project.

But these days he merely cursed and rolled his eyes about how high school was pretty much the worst thing people had to endure. And it was mainly due to the people who you had to put up with on a day to day basis, so hopped up on hormones at this stage of their life it made any attempt at conversation insufferable for both parties. It was pretty close to unbearable.

So despite the mellowing, Clint still had zero interest in engaging with just about anyone when he didn't have to. He tried to speak as few words as possible to anyone despite what was a killer sense of humor, and he kept mostly to himself in the back halls and shadows of the hallway. He didn't need to associate with Carter and her gaggle of admirers. He didn't need to trade stories with Thor or any of the other so-called "heroes" of this school. He certainly didn't need to blow things up with Stark and his posse. And he was even reluctant to become friendly with others on the fringe such as he was- Strange could keep his card tricks to himself.

"Dude," Peter Quill cut into his thoughts as he lifted on end of his outdated earphones, "What did you say to me?"

But sometimes he was forced to engage with others, and even then he tried to keep things as minimal as possible. When he and Quill had been assigned to ward through the infamous Civil War paper together Clint only had one sentence on the subject. He would do the Confederate half, and Quill could do the Union. They'd stitch it together the day it was due. And the rest of the week had been blissful silence while Quill got bored and tried hitting on Jane Foster to nowhere close to success. He can make he see stars indeed.

In response to Quill's inquiry, Clint simply held up his half of the twenty-page report with a bored expression. His partner's face lit up and bent down to dig into his backpack at his feet. If one could call it a backpack, as the thing looked older than Clint and about to fall apart at any moment. Clint knew it was a weakness of Quill's- that everything he owned had been used by someone before him as a ward of the state. Clint made it a point to know everyone's weaknesses as a product of protecting himself in his younger days. He always had to make sure he had something to exploit just in case.

But he liked to think he wasn't quite that person anymore and even if he was, he wanted Quill to cooperate and not punch him in the face. Though he would totally win that fight. So he merely kept quiet, leaned against the lockers of the Sophomore hallway, skateboard draped under his free arm casually. He still needed to get it into his locker before school started, since technically he wasn't supposed to have it on school grounds at all. Who knew when Happy the Security Guard would come lurking around the bend looking for something to bust Clint for like always. The man just did not like him in the slightest.

Quill kept digging, pulling out papers crumpled in balls and snacks the poor guy must hoard and a couple of tapes that were always on him. Clint was starting to dread what this paper would look like when it did surface with that state of things. It would make it much harder to convince their teacher they had done it together if it looked anything like the rest of his belongings.

Clint looked back and forth a few times as students started to head for class, a few minutes left until the bell, making sure Happy wasn't in this wing still. He still needed to stash his skateboard, grab his books, and get to class before the bell rang. He wasn't about to earn his first tardy of the past year and worry Coulson.

"Quill," he finally spoke, putting a bit of pressure on his partner a minute or two later as the hallway started to really empty with a few stragglers. "Seriously, did you-?"

"It's here. Just give me one more second." He started digging faster now. "Got it!" He pulled out a folder that didn't match anything else that had emerged from that backpack. It was pristine and clearly kept safe from anything and everything. Quill threw it open and pulled out a pristine set of ten neatly typed pages. He rolled his eyes at Clint's surprised expression as he held it out. "Yes, I did give a shit. Now take it and let's get to class."

Clint quickly switched back to his neutral expression and grabbed the pages, planning to staple them together in English. With a nod, he and Peter parted in opposite directions at two very different paces once the headphones were back on and the dancing began. Clint only had three minutes now at this point. He might need to break a few rules so he didn't end up breaking any rules.

With that, he threw his skateboard on the ground and coasted his way through the hallway to his locker at the other end, enjoying the sensation he felt when cutting through the air with a rush of wind past him. It was probably one of his favorite sensations, outside shooting a bullseye when practicing his archery and feeling the rush as an arrow cut through the air. He wasn't going that fast now as he weaved around students, but he never needed to be to feel it. To feel completely free and at peace in a way life had no other way of delivering to him. And it owed him this sensation after all the crap he had to put up with so far in his life.

He came to an abrupt stop at his locker, flipping the board up into his hand with ease. In a couple of movements, he had the locker open and grabbed his English book and a fresh pencil. Two minutes. Maybe he could coast on his board to the stairs and then-

"Ahem," he heard in a voice that sent a chill up his spine. He had heard that voice far too many times for his own good and he wasn't even hallway through his high school career yet. It was a voice that meant the end of many plan and scheme. A voice that meant a call home and a few days spent in detention.

In short, Clint Barton was now officially doomed.

He turned, slamming the locker shut, and was met by the crossed arms of Vice Principal Maria Hill, her face etched in that permanent straight line that made better man than he fall to their knees. Clint had just about a weakness stacked up for everyone in this establishment should the moment call for it, but he had absolutely nothing on Maria Hill. The woman was legitimately a brick wall. She tapped her fingers against her elbow, almost counting down how much longer a student had until they were completely miserable.

Clint took a deep breath, smiling and trying to keep cool. "Vice Principal Hill. It's nice to see you, but I really need to get to class."

She glanced down at the board and then back up at him. "You know, when a single tardy with your name on it didn't pass my desk last semester I thought it must have been a fluke."

Leave it to her to accentuate the negative. Maria Hill had never been his fan, and didn't quite put much stock in his mellowing being more than a temporary fad. She never seemed to acknowledge how hard Clint was trying to make things better, to be better. She just looked for all the ways he was failing at it and made them perfectly clear. Maybe that was why Fury let her take care of the budget and fundraising- people were desperate to get her off their case.

"I just- I'm trying to get to class," he tried to explain, knowing it was in vain. Maria Hill was one of the only people he would mince words with, and most of them time they made him sound like the idiot she believed him to be.

He only had a minute and a half left. Coulson was probably staring at his empty chair right now.

He couldn't let him down again.

"It looks like your delinquency just transferred to between classes instead of in them," she continued as if he had never spoken. She reached a hand out. "You know that's not allowed in school, Barton."

He slid it behind his back, desperate to keep it out of her reach. "I know. But- "

"Hand it over." She stared right into his eyes, making him flinch. He went to argue, but one glance at the clock promptly shut his mouth. One minute. He didn't have time for this. He couldn't be late. It wasn't who he was anymore. He had to keep proving that.

It looks like Vice Principal Hill had been the one to find his weakness.

"Here," he practically tossed it at her in a spur of the moment decision.

And she smiled. A smile that cut him right to his core. "You'll have this back at the end of the week, Mr. Barton. Stop by my office."

A week?! It was Monday. She seriously couldn't expect him to just take losing his skateboard for-

There wasn't time. There wasn't time. She had him and he wasn't winning this battle without sacrificing the war.

So he just grit his teeth and forced himself to look away from her without arguing. And it took every bit of his mellowed nature to do it. And then he ran like his life depended on it, jumping the stairwell with a thud. He ran down the English hallway, practically skidding through the door as the bell rang.

It was then he became aware of what he had just done. Hill now had his skateboard in her hands and was probably smugly walking it back to her office at this moment to display it like some sort of trophy. She'd managed to break Clint Barton once again by making him choose. And she'd someone gotten him to throw away one of the only things that mattered to him, the bitch.

He was pulled from his thoughts for a moment though by Coulson giving him a friendly clap on the back, warm smile on his face. "Glad you made it, Clint." The only teacher who was allowed to call him that. "Now grab your seat. We have a discussion to get to."

Clint nodded at his mentor and went to do just that, arranging his book and pulling the pencil from his vest pocket. It had been worth it to keep his record, to keep that belief Coulson had in him that he treasured so much. There had been a time when Coulson was the only person who gave a damn about him and had showed him that he needed to give a damn about himself. Clint had come quite the distance since then, but he still relied on Coulson for the majority of that belief still. He would be a lost soul again without it.

Like he said, high school was dramatic. Even for him.

But Maria Hill had exploited that and used that to her advantage just then. He knew it and was positive she knew it too. And he needed to make it clear that he wasn't alright with being treated that way. Clint still had to stick up for himself, you know. He still had that con man deep within him no matter how hard he tried to bury it.

So while half his brain was taking notes and participating in discussion, the other half was coming up with a plan. The kind he used to pull without hesitation. But she would see that coming a mile away, so he would need to put a twist on it if he wanted to really show her.

This called for a conversation with Nat at lunch.

XXX

Natasha Romanoff was just about the only person in this entire school Clint considered a friend. Mainly because she was the only person who didn't grate every nerve just being around for five seconds. She was fiercely independent and didn't give a damn what anyone thought of her. She could put on a mask and win her way into a group with ease if she wanted to, but she just didn't want to. She was content gritting her teeth and suffering through like Clint, using the shadows and deception to keep any sort of eye off of her.

Which is why she was the only one worth talking to in his opinion.

He grabbed his tray quickly and made his way to the table in the corner the two of them shared since she had joined him in January. The two had never said a word about the subject, she just moved from her empty table to his after getting to know each other a bit in Chemistry. She was with Bruce Banner while he had Tony Stark- kill him now, and the two would often secretly switch partners so the two could go crazy with whatever they wanted to do. It was a fair arrangement as long as the two groups got A's, which they did without fail. They had talked a bit and learned they both hated this place. And that was about all it took to make her his best friend.

The two of them didn't really talk too much here, only if someone really had something to say. Instead, they were fine just enjoying one another's company, knowing they were keeping up the façade of wanting to be left alone, but doing it together. In all reality, he could have switched off his hearing aid as he did when she wasn't around, but now the din of students wasn't as maddening as it had once been. He had someone to roll her eyes with him now. Coulson may have turned him around, but he felt a lot of the reason he stayed that way was because Natasha would kick his ass if he didn't.

She took a seat a moment later, curiously raising her eyebrow when she noticed he hadn't touched his food. "I need help breaking into Hill's office," he cut right to the chase. There was no use ever beating around the bush when it came to Natasha. She despised it even more than he did.

"Why?" Well, it wasn't a no. She played with a tomato in her salad, watching it as she rolled it between two fingers. "I thought Clint Barton didn't do that kind of stuff anymore?"

"She took my skateboard and I need to get it back." She glanced at him before throwing the tomato over her shoulder.

"You boys and your toys," she shook her head, coy smile on her lips.

"Nat, it's not about the board," he made clear. He was the only one who could call her that, and only he had just earned that privilege about a week ago. She just stared at him. "It's mostly not about the board. It's the fact that Hill doesn't ever cut me a break and tries to prove I'm still just a delinquent by forcing me into situations where I do."

"Hill has it out for all of us, Clint."

He scoffed. "You know I'm her favorite to pick on. Even Happy has let up on me a bit at this point." He leaned forward. "I need to show her she's not allowed to just walk all over me- that maybe I won't pick a fight but I'm still going to do something about it."

"And get your board back."

Clint groaned. "Fine. And get the skateboard I happen to enjoy a great bit back so I don't have to wait a week and walk home every day. But the other one is the priority."

"Why involve me?"

"Because she'd never expect me to ask for help," he answered simply. "She's hung up in the past, so I need to show her I've moved on." She thought about this a long moment until Clint got impatient. "Are you in or what?"

She finally shrugged. "What the hell. I had no plans for this afternoon." She took a bite of her salad. "Break it down for me Clint."

Clint launched into what he had spent the last three classes putting together. "Okay, so I will create a diversion on the stairwell to draw her out. You go and grab the board while I get out of there before she can even get to me. I'm thinking maybe get Thor into a fight with someone by making it seem like they said a bad word about Jane. That's usually foolproof."

"I thought they weren't dating anymore."

"Doesn't mean he's over her. He'll fight whoever it is without hesitation. He's not much of an intellectual, our star football player." He smiled, fun thought coming to him. "Maybe I'll make it interesting and make it seem like it was Rogers. I'd like to see that."

"Clint, Thor may not be the smartest in your opinion but there is no way he is going to believe Steve 'Complete Gentleman' Rogers badmouthed someone. And we're not dragging Steve into this." Ah yes. Clint may only have one friend, but he strongly suspected Natasha had two despite her insistences. Even she couldn't manage disdain for Steve Rogers and his pursuit to just be a dogged nice guy to someone as ostracized as her. If he hadn't imprinted on Peggy Carter like a baby duck maybe there could have been something to it even.

Clint was glad that was never going to happen. He might have to move to another table if Natasha or he gave in and actually started seeing someone.

"Fine. No Rogers. Drax maybe. We'll figure it out. But can you get into her office?"

"Yeah. But I'm not going to." He waited for her to elaborate. "You say you're going to get out of whatever diversion you create. But if Hill catches even an inkling you were there or you somehow get tied up… you'll be in detention. So much for your big stand."

"What do you suggest?"

"Let me do the diversion," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I can get out of there and you know it." Indeed she could. Clint had no doubts about it.

"And I grab the board?"

"Again, you need to be out of this situation completely. She can't know you were in there. Besides, master thief you are not and you know it."

"Then what do you suggest?" She just stared at him and then it clicked into place with a groan. "No. Not him. Anyone but him."

She just kept staring, taking another bite. "No one will know he was there."

"Because no one wants to believe he was anywhere."

"He'd do it in a heartbeat if you asked."

"Which would require speaking to him."

"We need him to pull this off."

"No one need him. No one should ever need him." She just kept staring, and Clint knew she was right. He took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, glancing over to a table practically across the cafeteria where the man in question sat with his partner in crime.

"Do you want to stick it to Hill or not?" Natasha questioned. "Because him? There's no better way to show her up than him." With that, Clint slid his chair out and rose, taking a deep breath.

"I'm switching the hearing aid off when I talk to him."

"You need to hear him answer, genius."

"I can read his lips."

"No you can't and we both know it." She shot her a look, but it just bounced right off her. "We both know you're not a spy Clint. Now go talk to him so we can figure this out before lunch is over."

He waited a beat before speaking again. "Two minutes and then I turn it off."

"Go."

And with that, Clint Barton made his way across the cafeteria to stand before the one and only Scott Lang who was with his friends Luis, Dave, and Kurt. Or 'his crew' as Scott babbled inanely about. One had to wonder how many things had gone missing from this school at their hands. Most knew about the smoothie machine now in Luis's basement, but the others were just guesses. Missing chalkboard? Scott maybe? Missing pencil sharpener? Scott possibly? Missing donations to the book drive? So Scott.

It took Scott a moment to realize he was there, wide grinning spreading across his face Clint had to fight the urge to punch off. "Barton!" He rose, pulling Barton over by the condiments so they were by themselves. "What bring you to our neck of the woods? Finally consider my offer. Between you and me, tomorrow- "

"I don't want to know," Barton made clear, hand up. God, he hated being forced to talk to these guys. "I don't want to be involved with you and whatever it is you plan on doing. I won't be involved and Hill will still find a way to pin it on me."

"I'm still sorry about that. Who would have thought a missing plaque of Fury's sounded so much like you M.O.?"

"You did," Clint reminded him. "That's why you did it."

"Right," Scott nodded. "So then why are you here?"

"I need you to steal- "

"I'm in," he interrupted without hesitation.

"You are?"

"Yeah. I'm up for a good burgle and if it's coming from a straight arrow like you it has to be good. What's the target?"

"A skateboard in Vice Principal Hill's office."

"Really? What about the medal of her father's she keeps in the third drawer- the key to which is behind that painting of a mountain? "

"No. Nothing but the skateboard," Clint tried desperately to keep Scott on track.

It was clear he had lost him though. "But can I just grab the waffle maker she confiscated from me a few weeks ago. It's totally mine since I stole it first. Luis and I- "

And the hearing aid was getting switched off.

XXX

Clint hated taking a backseat role in his own plans, but in this case it was necessary to wait at the bench in front of school away from the action, grumbling mentally to himself about it. But Natasha was right, this is what had to be done. He had to be flexible and try a new strategy if he was planning on beating Hill at her own game. He had to trust others, something that never came easy to him and probably never would.

But a week without his board was something else entirely.

So he waited, hearing aid turned all the way up so he could be ready for anything.

He would learn all about it tomorrow though. He would hear them talking in the hallways about how Natasha and Thor had to be an item because she had walked right up to him on the stairs and threaded her arm through his. Which came at a great surprise to the football player she had just been flirting up a storm with. He would then pick a fight with Thor with others on the stairway picking sides, Sif backing Thor up with his other friends. The arguing would only grow as Natasha somehow vanished from the staircase altogether (how she never said since women had to have their secrets) and was unable to lend any clarity. And then things had come to blows, the power that redhead had on men when she wanted to. They had fought while she went home, completely nonplussed by the whole thing.

He would hear how it drew Hill out of her office like a moth to a flame since she could hear it. And that it took her a whole two minutes to get those boys under control- which was a record actually. He was surprised they had made it that long. It would be detentions for all and the staircase was to be cleared this instant before someone broke their head open and got blood all over the new tile floor they had put in over winter break. Oh, the shame.

He would hear how Jane was at the foot of the stairs as she made her way to Science Club and started crying when Gwen tried to steer her away with a scornful look in the jock's direction. And that it eventually spurred Jane and Thor to finally talk and started the path to them getting back together. He considered it an unfortunate side effect and wished to take no credit for launching the school back into that whole massive drama cycle. God, that was unfortunate.

He would unfortunately hear about Scott vanishing from right beside Luis at his locker without explanation ad his friend shouted down the halls for him. He would hear how he picked the lock once Hill was clear in thirty seconds and managed to keep his head out of his ass long enough to grab the board and get out without a trinket of his own. The guy would then proceed to nearly blow the whole operation by running the long way around and looking over his shoulder in triumph, sending and unsuspecting Matt Murdock to the floor.

Since no one messed with Matt, Scott insisted he had to help him up and dust him off before taking off again without an apology even with Steve Rogers yelling after him. Scott had a heart though and would come back once the drama was over, and his apology to Matt would somehow apparently earn him the man who would become his best friend. Clint wished to take no credit for that one either. In fact, he felt horrible for Matt and apologized to him every chance he got for such a horrible thing happening to him and the responsibility he felt for it.

He heard about how Hill instantly noticed when she got back and went right to Fury. Unfortunately, there was no way of finding out who was involved since the cameras had conveniently been turned in the wrong direction. Happy hadn't noticed, the poor guy- too busy eating a nice Belgian waffle that had been dropped off for him. Wonder who was nice enough to do that.

He would just wait until Scott rounded the curve, thrust the board into his hands, and told him to get out of Dodge. And he would- wouldn't stop the whole way home until he was in his garage. Would be there when Hill called the house and there was no possible way he could have caused any of that trouble since he had to walk home. He didn't have a jetpack after all.

They never did find the culprit. The job had been too good. Clint made sure to thank Natasha by distracting Tony in Chemistry so she could actually work on something with Bruce, another thing he wanted no credit for, and by just being the best friend he could manage to be for her. He had thanked Scott by… well, by saying thank you. Nothing else necessary. The less they spoke the better. Besides, Scott was busy getting put on the straight and narrow these days by a very persuasive Steve Rogers to associate with someone from his days of burglary.

In the end it was mission accomplished though. Hill from then on out made it a point to look away whenever she heard rumors of Clint using a skateboard to make it to class on time. I mean, his was missing. There was no way it could be true and she didn't need to look into it in the slightest.

Maybe he had found her weakness after all. Maybe pulling one over on someone as sharp as her was enough to earn her respect. And respect meant a great deal when it came to helping her get over her animosity towards him. Maybe one day she would shake his hand while handing him his diploma and actually admit she was proud of him. And it might be the greatest moment of his life only to be topped by the hug Coulson gave him after he made his way down the stage.

Not that Clint had been looking for that at all. He didn't care about anyone in this school because high school was pretty much the worst thing he was forced to suffer through. He didn't care about anyone or anything other than having his board to cruise on. Nothing else- not pride nor self-worth nor showing just maybe how trust wasn't the worst thing ever. All those stories about high school shaping people… complete bullshit after all.

Clint was just a mellow as he ever was.

Just ask Hill. She would tell you.


	5. When Scott Was in Over His Head

**That Time in Infinity High**

 _When Scott Was Over His Head_

 _Avengers Senior Year- Fall Finals Week_

XXX

 **Monday**

"Stars Wars?" Hope Van Dyne questioned with a quirked eyebrow as she and her boyfriend of a few months approached her locker.

Scott Lang gave an affectionate huff. "Yes, Hope. Star Wars? It's a very popular series of movies, you might have heard of them." She just gave him a look at his sarcasm as he stepped clear of her swinging locker door. He had fallen victim to her wild swing on the thing more times than he liked to admit- in fact there had been a semester junior year when she managed to clip him just right practically every day. The woman just did not know how to hold back, both in her locker and practically every facet of her life it seemed. Most found it intimidating- especially the male species- but not Scott.

To him it was one of her most attractive qualities, actually.

She started to put everything in her locker, needing nothing for the first Final of the week other than her wits and a pencil. Not that Hope had any reason to worry- her study group with her best friends Gwen and Peggy had probably actually involved studying. Scott with his pals on the other hand… well, who could blame them by getting distracted by the fact there was finally going to be a new _Star Wars_ film in a week and finding it necessary to review the whole series. They didn't have much to lose. They'd all been accepted to colleges already. And plus, they'd totally studied afterwards. Or maybe crammed was the right word.

"But you want _me_ to go see the new one with you?" Hope made her query clearer, turning to him with her brilliant brown eyes. God, she was one in a million. Scott still had to wonder how he'd been lucky enough to get her agree to date him, let alone how he was managing to keep her around and interested. "Scott," she called him back to reality, rolling her eyes fondly at his antics.

"Yeah… well, of course I do," he told her adamantly. "We didn't spend any time together last week or this weekend because of the whole studying apart thing you insist upon." He crossed his arms and leaned against the lockers. "Not that I saw anything wrong with our study sessions."

She shut her locker and the two of them started down the Senior hallway to meet up with the others, coy smile on her lips. "Nothing wrong except we never actually studied."

"Exactly! My making out time has decreased exponentially and it's a shame."

"So you want to correct that by taking me to the premiere of Star Wars?" Boy, did she have him pegged. Scott had been counting down to this movie for months and she knew it.

"Okay, so during the movie we will not be making out. We will naturally be watching the magic unfolding on screen. But we can in the car before and after. And maybe I can spend some time at your place with your dad too caught up in his work to notice us."

Hope snorted. "He makes sure he's never caught up when you're over. Except in bolting everything we own to the ground." Scott felt his face fall at the comment, coming to a stop. Hope noticed and turned to face him, instantly realizing her mistake as she put a hand to his face- a very unusual public display of affection. "Hey, it was a joke. You know he's starting to warm up to you." Scott just gave her a look. "I'm serious. He didn't tell me I should 'dump the dead weight' this week. That's a huge improvement!"

"I just… I kind of want your dad to like me. It would help a lot of things, my Physics grade included." She smacked his arm, hating whenever he referenced her father working at this school. It had been something she had been desperate to avoid to the point of going by her mom's last name. High school was the kind of scary place that could really make things a lot harder for someone with that fact. By this point is was a generally accepted point of knowledge without a problem, turns out when you had the kind of friends she did people could keep to themselves without too much trouble, but Hope still tried to keep it to herself as much as possible.

"He will. I mean, I warmed up to you, and I'm probably the coldest person I know."

"You can be very frosty," Scott admitted, smiling a bit. She gave him a quick peck on the lips, making it broaden even more as she looked at him.

"I will go see Star Wars you, Scott. I think it's an excellent idea for a date." She took a few steps back to put some space between them lest Hill come around the corner and give them hell. "How are you going to get tickets though? Haven't they been sold out for months?"

"That local theatre, the small one just off The Collector's coffee shop, has an owner who doesn't believe in all this 'online ticketing nonsense'. So he is doing things the old fashioned way and only selling tickets for the premiere starting Thursday morning. School doesn't start until later, I get the tickets beforehand, we have our last Finals possibly ever, and then we get to see Han Solo at midnight. Foolproof."

"I like a man with a plan." She glanced at the clock in the hallway. "We need to get to class. I have a Spanish final to destroy."

"You've got this." She started for the stairs, but Scott then remembered something. "You'll need a costume." The look she gave him told him that he was pushing his luck. "Come on. I can't have the nerds tearing you apart. This is serious business, Hope." She wasn't answering which wasn't a good sign. "Come on. It'll be fun. I can be Han and you can be Leia."

She stayed silent for another moment before speaking up again. "Only if I'm Han and you're Leia. You can even do the gold bikini if you want."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm Han, Lang. Take it or leave it."

"Fine. But no bikini." He watched her run up the stairs and turned to head to his first final, Psychology. "I am a respectable princess after all." He waved to a few stressed people he passed before breezing into the classroom and sliding into the seat next to his very best friend, the one and only Matt Murdock. "Hey, buddy. You ready to get this over with? By the way, plan on me copying off of you."

Matt gave him one of his brightest smiles, adjusting his red sunglasses as he pulled out his special type of paper from his satchel Scott never cased to mock him for. "Something tells me you won't quite be able to decipher my handwriting. It's probably the only reason teachers let us sit together at this point."

Scott gave a noise of mock insult. "Listen, I am many things but a cheater was not one of them. I get C's on my own merit."

"Yeah, you definitely don't copy off me then if that's all you're pulling." He took a deep breath. "My mind is practically already on Christmas Break at this point."

"It's going to be great. We'll have our big grand snowball fight with the guys- you'll be on Steve's team this time because he practically wins single-handedly anyway, movies with hot chocolate and the girls, and of course all the video games a man can dream of."

"Scott, everything you named was purely visual-based. Just saying."

"I know. And I know you don't care and are only giving me a hard time because you find an unbelievable amount of joy out of giving me a hard time. It's why you and Hope get along."

Matt smirked. "Guilty as charged." The bell rang and everyone started putting their last minute study materials away. "It is going to be great though. Especially finally getting to see the midnight show of the new Star Wars this weekend. Can you believe it's here? A new Star Wars."

What? "What?"

"Star Wars? You know the movies we watched all weekend? Please tell me you weren't thinking about Hope the entire twelve hours."

"No- just… midnight show?"

"Yeah." He frowned as Scott stayed silent, a highly unusual occurrence. "You didn't forget, did you? Of course you did. I answered my own question." Scott opened his mouth, mind reeling, but nothing was coming out. "That's alright though. Feige refuses to sell tickets until the day of the show at his theatre so we should be fine. You can just stop by before school."

"Yeah… that sounds like a plan alright," Scott finally got his words to work. "It sounds like great minds think alike."

Matt frowned and Scott knew he was in trouble just as their proctor Dr. Selvig entered the class with a stack of papers. "Something's wrong." Scott shook his head, a force of habit even after all this time. "Scott, when you don't talk to me… that means I'm right."

"Stop lawyering me!" Scott lashed out, brain desperately trying to figure this situation out. He saw Matt flinch and realized what an asshole he was being. If only he wasn't about to make it worse. "I'm sorry. That wasn't- I didn't mean that. Sorry, Matt."

Matt's face instantly closed off, a sure sign the poor guy had taken things to heart. "It's fine Scott. I get it. I'll leave you- "

"I did forget," Scott came clean as Selvig started handing out the test to the various aisles of students. "I forgot we had made a date because I had my mind on… other things. I forgot and I invited Hope to go with me as a date. Just-just the two of us." Now Matt was silent, staring forward with a completely blank face that Scott hadn't seen since he had met his friend. Even when they had fought Junior year, Matt had never seemed this hurt. "Matt, I- "

"Quiet," Selvig barked as he dropped a stack on Scott's desk and ended their conversation. Scott spent the next hour desperately trying to keep his mind on filling in bubbles when it was really desperately trying to find a way out of this whole scenario. He needed a way to wind back the clock and make this all go away.

Matt was done in thirty minutes and then just sat in a tense silence, staring straight ahead. And there was no way for Scott to silently get his attention without making a scene that would get them both in trouble. Soon the two hours was up and the bell rang. Scott didn't get a word out before Matt was out of his seat and navigating out of the classroom with his cane tapping along. He usually always waited for Scott, forgoing the cane in favor of his best friend guiding him to the next destination. But it looked like that wasn't the case today.

Scott tried to remain focused on his Physics final, especially with Pym practically breathing down his neck. This was one he couldn't afford to blow. And then he set his mind back to thinking, knowing turning back time wasn't an option. He needed to get over it, own up to his mistake, and figure out the best way to move forward that hurt the two most important people in his life the least.

Once class was dismissed and the day was over, thankfully they school only had two tests a day so as to limit the torture, Scott made his way to the locker where his other best pals were. Steve was picking out the books to take home and study while Sam was laughing at something the two had apparently been talking about. "Have you guys seen Matt?"

Steve's smile immediately faded and he crossed his arms. Though Scott was his best friend, Steve had been friends with Matt for nearly a year longer and was very protective of their criminal justice pal- even when it came to the rest of their group of four that had formed when Scott joined them in Sophomore year. "Yeah. Jessica's giving him a ride home- very begrudgingly and for a fee I think. He said it would be easier since they're in the same neighborhood and then he could start studying sooner."

"We thought it was just usual Matt," Sam spoke up as well. "Trying to get a girl. But then it became incredibly obvious it was more he didn't want to be around you." Scott swore under his breath. "What happened, Lang?"

Scott noticed Hope going to her locker out of the corner of his eye. "I let him down, plain and simple."

"That's pretty clear," Sam rolled his eyes. "But, Lang, you let down a lot of people… or you used to."

"Thank for the pep talk, Wilson."

"Let me finish. But I have never seen you let down Matt before. Maybe pissed him off for a bit, but seeing him without a smile on his face because of you is new."

"I'm going to fix it," Scott vowed, starting toward Hope. "I'll catch up with you guys in a minute. I need to tell Hope something."

Steve nodded, slinging his backpack over his back. Sam still seemed pissed, but Steve seemed to accept Scott taking responsibility as a step in the right direction. "Alright. We have to meet with Coach for a minute anyway about when we come back."

"Basically he's going to tell his Captain and Co-Captain they still have a job," Sam quipped, but Scott was already by Hope- just in time for her swinging locker to hit him right in the nose.

"Scott! Are you okay?" He took a step back, pinching his nose and leaning forward to try and stop the blood now trickling down his face. "You need to really watch- "

"I screwed up," he began, knowing he needed to cut right to the chase. "I screwed up and it's going to upset you. So I'm sorry in advance."

Hope's stare hardened a bit. "What did you say to my dad in Physics this time?"

"Nothing! Nothing. We are still on frosty terms. It's not that. It's the movie- our date."

"Can't find a Leia costume." She held up her phone displaying a Han Solo dress. "My Han one is on the way. Pinterest is a thing of beauty and I will eternally love Peggy for introducing me to it."

"I promised Matt I would go with him months ago." Hope looked up from the phone, clutching it just a little tighter. "I told him we'd go, but then I forgot and asked you. Now he's upset at me and I imagine you are now too."

"Yeah, not going to lie I don't exactly regret the whole locker thing as much now." She put her phone back in her jacket. "You seriously forgot your plans with your best friend?"

"I did, because I was thinking about you and us and spending time with you. Which makes the whole thing with Matt even worse because I told him when we finally happened that he would always be my best friend. But now… now I've proven I'm an asshole who doesn't even consider him at all and believe me I hate myself for it."

"So what are you going to do about it?" she challenged. "Come on. Let's stop wallowing and come up with a plan for what we're going to do about this."

Scott took a deep breath, readying himself to launch into the solution he had been able to find. "The three of us go." He could already tell Hope wasn't having it. "I know it's not fair to either of you by a long shot, but it's better than letting one of you down completely. I will pay for all three tickets, finding the money somehow- legally I swear." That was going to be the tough part, but maybe he could convince Cho to let him clean out some of her lab equipment for winter storage. He had done it before. "I will pay, the three of us will go, and then we can still go to your house afterward now probably with less making out." Her face told him she wasn't a big fan of this. "Talk to me Hope. I won't do this if you're not okay with it."

She took a long moment to remain stone silent before finally looking back up at him. "I want to bring Peggy with."

"Huh?"

She shrugged. "This clearly isn't a couple thing anymore and you need to take Matt with us. You have to make this right by him and I get that. But that means my entire night is going to be spent as the third wheel to the two of you."

"No," Scott disagreed, finally releasing his clotted nose. "If anything, he'll be the third wheel. We can hold hands the entire time. Matt and I certainly won't do that."

"No, but you will whisper the entire events of the movie into his ear the whole time."

"I have to do that. He's- "

"I know he's blind, Scott. I'm not. And I love Matt," she made clear. "He's one of the best guys I've ever known which is half the reason I'm willing to do this. But we've done this before, and sitting next to your boyfriend while he whispers to his best friend the whole time, describing the plot very poorly I might add, isn't my idea of great night. So I want a friend too. I want Peggy to come with."

Scott wanted to argue, but quickly grasped there was no point. He had yet to win an argument with Hope, and he was pretty much in the doghouse already to start off. "Okay. You can invite Peggy."

She started typing on her phone, not looking at him as she spoke again. "She'll want Steve to come with. If we're going on a date she'll want to bring her newly minted Bald Eagle of a soulmate."

"Sure. Of course. Then Matt will just be the fifth wheel. Might as well invite Sam then to balance things out."

"Might as well invite the whole table then. Which means Gwen who will want to bring Peter." She shut her locker. "An even number so it works."

Scott grit his teeth. "That it does."

"I'll talk to them. You let your bros know where they'll be Thursday night." She gave him a pat on the cheek. "And you'd better made up with Matt, even if it requires begging on your hands and knees, by the time I see you tomorrow or I will kick your ass for his sake. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." And with that she was gone, leaving Scott to take care of his own locker before meeting Sam and Steve over by the car Sam usually drove them all in. He didn't say a word as he climbed into the back, the other two sliding in as well.

It wasn't until after they left school grounds that he finally spoke. "So I'm going to need twelve dollars from each of you because you're going to the Star Wars premiere at midnight on Thursday."

Scott went home and quickly wrote the list of names on a sticky note, circling an eight he jotted below it with a sigh. He then pulled out his phone and dialed Matt, only for it to go to voicemail immediately.

"Hey, it's me. I'm an asshole and I know it. I'm trying to work this out though and I know it's not fair to you in what we had planned, but I do have a plan. It involves a lot more people, but hopefully it can start making up for things. So please call me, because I will literally go insane this week without my best friend. Which you are and always will be, okay? I just had one mind slip and I've seen you with girls so I know you've been there before. In short, please don't hate me. I don't think I could stand you hating me. So… bye I guess." With that he hung up, but quickly remembered something. "Shoot," he said under his breath as he dialed again.

"Oh, and by the way I'll pay for your ticket. If that helps. Hope it does. Bye again."

XXX

 **Tuesday**

Scott was the closest to the school, and thus was the last one to be picked up by Sam when he swung by in his car. He watched from his apartment building vestibule, trying to avoid the cold, as Sam pulled into the usual parking spot with Steve in the passenger seat right next to him. Okay, that was good. Matt was going to be in the back next to him and hadn't asked Steve to switch. He could do this, despite his legs really wanting to run away from the situation.

Scott had once run from a lot of situations- always looking for the easiest and fastest way out of his problems. Why write the paper when you could pay someone at Hydra Academy to do it for you? Why earn the money to pay them when you can just steal something from the school cafeteria and sell it? And it just went deeper and deeper until Scott didn't have to care about anything except not getting caught.

But then he'd met the guys. And despite Sam and Steve not being so keen on a burglar with a reputation hanging around them when they were so- there was no other word for it- good, Matt had clicked with him right away in a way that didn't quite make sense to either of them at the time. I mean, Matt was the king of taking responsibility for problems that weren't even his own. He wanted to be a lawyer after all. But somehow Scott always knew what Matt needed help with and what he didn't. He made him laugh the hardest with his antics and sometimes was the only one who could see through fake happiness he was prone to putting on when upset. He never felt like he needed to talk down to him- if anything it was the other way around. Somehow, the two of them balanced each other out in a way that made Matt want to keep him around. And maybe it was because Matt was such a good guy that Scott wanted to spend so much time around him despite the obvious moral code differences.

But the time with the guys had inevitably started to change him- though Hope certainly had a lot of credit in that department too. Steve and Sam had eventually moved past their hesitation to see maybe with a little elbow grease Scott could end up being a presentable member of society. And they helped steer him with a patience that proved how incredible of friends they were- though he would never tell Wilson that. He turned down practically all the offers he got from Luis these days and was finally starting to get it through his thick skull that being responsible was the only way you earned the things worth having.

Like having Matt Murdock as his best friend.

So Scott climbed in the car. And as Sam pulled out of the parking spot and Scott turned to begin his series of apologies it was Matt who spoke first. "I forgive you, so you don't have to apologize again."

Scott probed the statement in his head for any of the cadences of false happiness, and surprisingly didn't find any. "I hope you don't mind what we came up with. Because if so- "

"It's fine with me," Matt nodded. "I'm just- I feel bad for Hope more than anyone. She must have been looking forward to going on a date with you." He took a deep breath. "Maybe I can just stay home and we'll go next weekend."

"No. You're coming. She wants you to come. You know Hope loves having you around."

"I love Hope too. She's one of the smartest girls there is, except for being the idiot who's dating you." Sam snorted from the driver's seat. "Still, I'm sure I'll ruin the romantic atmosphere by you having to whisper the events of the entire film to me. With her, you might even be able to watch and enjoy it."

He was being self-depreciating and Scott was going to have none of it. He wasn't sacrificing his happiness to make Scott happy this time. Even Steve was turning at this point, but Scott held a hand up to signify he had this. "You know I have never cared about telling you what's going on. Not once." And it was true. Scott didn't have patience for a lot of things, but he somehow always managed for his best friend. Even more than Sam and Steve actually. His crowning achievement was getting through all of _Les Miserables_ without missing a beat the whole time when they watched it with the girls. Everyone had been rightfully impressed. "And this isn't a date thing anymore. It's a friend thing. All of us are going and you need to be there. I want my best friend to be there with me. You are just as important as Hope is to me. I know it doesn't seem like that now, but it's true. So you need to come and see the movie like we've been planning for months. Plus, you can be assured I will never forget plans with you again. I will be obsessively checking with you. I promise it's going to get very annoying."

Matt was silent for a moment. "I could get one of those audio descriptive service- "

"Screw those," came a chorus from the three other people in the car. Matt had used to do that whenever they went to the movies, but then would seem confused on the drives home about certain details. So the group had joined him one day when they saw a _Back to the Future_ rerelease, and had promptly decided they sucked hardcore. So now Scott took charge even if the theatre was sold out and people were shooting him glares. He didn't give a damn. Matt had paid for the movie, so he sure as hell was going to understand it as much as everyone else in that room.

"Okay then," Matt couldn't help but smile. "We'll do it as a group. You're still an idiot though for forgetting about me."

"Believe me, everyone agrees on that."

"Please tell me you remembered the Han Solo costume? Because I've had the Chewbacca one you insisted on for like two weeks now."

"I did. Slight change of plans though. Hope is going to be your Han while I be Leia."

And with that, everyone was laughing with tears in their eyes until they pulled into their parking spot at school. They all climbed out, Steve and Sam handing over their funds for their tickets with Steve paying Peggy's as well. "Typical gentleman."

"Hey, I finally got her. I don't want to lose her."

Scott snorted. "I'm pretty sure you could a murder a man and Peggy Carter would still marry you in a heartbeat."

"It could be a whole army really," Matt added with a smile. "At the wedding."

"Great. The two of you are ganging up on my love life again. Looks like everything's back to normal."

And it was. Everything seemed like it would be just fine. But then Peter Parker had approached him between his first final and his second.

"I have the money for the movie," he said politely, digging some crumpled bills out of his pocket and handing them over. "Gwen should be covered in there too, so don't let her pay you even if she tries."

Scott took it with a smile. He and Peter didn't interact too much with the kid being two years his junior, but he had always appeared to be a nice yet dorky kid. The kind Scott used to make fun of mercilessly before becoming as bully intolerant as he was now. He blamed Steve for that, only he didn't also lend him his ability to keep calm in those scenarios rather than just punching someone. "Thanks. I will see you there at Gwen's at ten then? That's what we're thinking for time."

Peter nodded and Scott went to walk past him. "I have a quick question." He turned back to see Peter fidgeting with his glasses. "It's just… I had plans with my other friends to go ice-skating Thursday night. We do something every year after Finals. And I really want to go with Gwen and see this, but I just don't want to hurt their feelings if you can get that."

Oh boy, did Scott ever. "Yeah. I do." He pulled out his sticky note. "Who are we talking about?"

"Umm… Sharon Carter and… Darcy Lewis." Okay, not quite who he was expecting. Sharon he didn't really know but if she had had a quarter of Peggy's sensibilities she'd be fine and a great person to have around for the night, but Darcy was a real wild card. They could get thrown out of the theatre with Darcy in their group.

He went to say something, but forced himself to stop. He couldn't in good conscience put Peter in the situation he had just escaped from. Peter was a good kid trying to do the right thing from the start, and he certainly had always treated Gwen right. Gwen probably did the least boy complaining of the girls at their table and he would be eternally grateful for that. So he could handle a night of Darcy Lewis to help this kid out. Two. Just two. He could do two more. It was friend thing and Peter was entitled to bring his friends so he wasn't the odd one out from their table. It was only fair.

"Just have them bring me the money for tickets by Wednesday afternoon and they'll be set." Peter beamed in relief and Scott instantly felt better about the decision.

"Thanks so much, Scott. You're really cool for doing this." And then he was gone. Scott scratched out the eight and made it ten with a smile, a little proud of himself for doing so well on his feet. Hopefully that carried over to his English final.

It kind of didn't, but that's okay. It was just a test.

When Jane Foster was waiting outside his locker afterwards though, he got the feeling he might be in trouble. And he got the distinct inkling Darcy Lewis was probably the one to blame. Because he had probably spoken to Jane once his entire time in high school when he was returning the telescope Luis had stolen out from under her. It had been going a bit too far for Scott.

"Hey, Jane," he waved awkwardly, trying to figure out to start a conversation. His eyes immediately locked on the letterman jacket dwarfing her. "Nice jacket."

"I came to warn you."

"Warn me of what?" Just then Scott's phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and Jane nodded towards that.

"Of that." He looked to see the message was from Bruce Banner asking for three tickets, in a very polite manner of course. A second later there was another message from Leo Fitz asking for six tickets.

"What…?"

"I figured as much," Jane shook her head. "Darcy announced in the Science Club Study Hall- "

"Wait, if it's study hall you don't have to stay, right? That's why I'm going to be late tomorrow."

"We're the science kids and we get two free hours in the lab. We're staying."

"Fair point." His phone vibrated again and he pocketed it to avoid having to look at anymore messages.

"Well, she announced that you were in charge of getting tickets for anyone in the school who wanted to see Star Wars at midnight if anyone was interested. Some already had them, but it seemed like a lot of people were interested since the local cinema hasn't started selling them yet. I just wanted to warn you." His phone vibrated again. "It might get a little overwhelming."

His mind was reeling now. "Anyone at school?" he repeated, earning a nod from Jane. "No. No. This was supposed to be a thing with my friends. We were all going together as a friend thing."

Jane crossed her arms, raising a harsh eyebrow. "Then how did Darcy get invited, because I'm pretty sure you've never said a sentence to her- all four of you."

Scott groaned. "Peter asked if she could come since she's his friend."

Jane snorted. "Okay, I'm pretty sure you've said like a paragraph to Peter."

"Hey, we had a very stimulating conversation today!" Scott grumbled. "And… and he was coming because Gwen was because Sam was because Steve was because Peggy was because Matt was."

"Point is it's no wonder Darcy got confused. So now you're going to have practically the whole school badgering you for the next two days about this."

"But I-I didn't want this. This isn't- this isn't how it was supposed to happen."

Jane shrugged. "Well, now it's your choice. You could always say no to them Scott. But just be careful if you start picking and choosing people. It's a lot of responsibility… and we know that wasn't always your strong suit." With that, she started down the hallway.

"Hey!" he shouted, causing her to turn. "Thanks for trying to get in here and warn me."

"Darcy's my best friend. I know what kind of chaos her craziness can cause."

He hesitated a moment, debating, before he finally spoke up what he was thinking. "Hey, I know you're big into Astrology and telescopes, plus you're a nerd." She shot him a look. "I meant that in the good way. Point is, if you want to come and bring Thor- "

She shook her head. He could tell what she wanted to say, but Jane was going to force herself to be polite and logical like always. "You don't have to do that. I know you already have enough on you plate."

He wasn't buying it. He also felt like he needed to make some past mistakes up, because Jane actually seemed to be a pretty cool person when she wasn't beating him over the head with a telescope. "You should be there. I want you to come. I owe you… for the whole telescope thing back in sophomore year."

She glanced down at it, the case in her right hand. "Listen, I'm the one who hit you with it because I thought it was you. It's no big deal. Just go with your friends." He just stared at her and she let out a huff. "Okay. I'll have Thor bring you the money for the two tickets tomorrow." She ran back up to him and gave him a quick one-armed hug. "Thank you."

And the pit in his stomach vanished for a moment as he watched her practically skip away in joy. He tried to keep that in mind as he switched out his books and went to join the guys, spending the whole way home skimming through his now twenty-seven messages. Matt, Sam, and Steve had left him to it when he explained the situation, telling them it was completely his choice and they would be fine either way as long as they all sat together.

Jane was right. He was holding a lot of responsibility right now and… and he didn't want to resort to taking the easy way out. But maybe in this case things were just spiraling too far out of control and it would be okay to put a lid on this can of worms.

He let the messages sit overnight, forcing himself to study instead. He even put his phone in the closet so he would stop looking at him. He seemed to go back and forth every moment, changing courses in the back of his mind like a thousand times.

The last thing he glanced at before he went to sleep was the sticky note he had back up on his desk- the number now at twelve.

 **Wednesday**

Scott had study hall for his first final like the rest of the guys, which meant he had an extra two hours before he had to go to class and take his Film History final, which was supposedly so easy you could be hungover and still ace it. Tony Stark had proven it, though then again he was still Tony Stark which was really unfair to the rest of the general population.

He finally pulled his phone out of his closet, seeing the message count had nearly doubled now that word had spread to the other clubs including football and theatre. God, why did Star Wars have to be so universal?

He debated for a moment before going against his gut. He tore the sticky note up, pulled out an old notebook and turned it to an empty page, and proceeded to fill in the names of each and every person who had texted him with numbers of how many tickets they wanted. It was an effort in patience and hand-cramping, but he managed. He then began to send out a response text that he copied for each and every one. As long as they were from Infinity High and got the money for tickets to him by tonight, including swinging by his apartment if they needed to, he would get them a ticket. Everyone was welcome and no one would be turned away. The friend thing was about to become a school thing.

When he arrived at school with the guys, he was practically mobbed to the point they almost lost Matt in the crowd. He made sure to anchor his arm around his best friend's and diligently collect everyone's donations.

He thankfully didn't have to do it alone though. Any other group of friends would have cut and run to leave their idiot pal to the fate he had put on himself. But he had the kind of friends who had his back when he nearly drowned himself, collecting as well and making sure names got crossed off his list in a proper and efficient manner. Matt kept everyone entertained and from getting too annoyed, relating the tale of how this whole mess had begun with a wry smile. The three of them almost seemed proud of him somehow for doing this, and it meant a lot in the moments he just wanted to shout for everyone to get lost.

Having them also made sure that when Hill came to investigate, she didn't throw him in her office for possibly selling drugs or answers to the whole of campus. Because Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and Matt Murdock would never be involved in those shenanigans.

They managed to get through everyone just a few minutes before class. About two-thirds of the names were crossed out now and Scott's backpack was now a lot heavier. He tried not to think about the amount of cash, ignoring the slight itch in his palm he could never quite eliminate. But he was different person now, and it was gone as soon as it came.

He aced his final of course. Everyone was done in a half hour and were allowed to mill about quietly. Scott went over his list diligently once again, scanning the room and noting everyone was on it in some capacity. But then he noticed Peter Quill in the back corner, in a world of his own as always due to those ancient headphones on his head.

He scanned the list twice, noting Gamora and Drax were on there, but there was no sign of Peter anywhere. Which was really surprising actually. This seemed like it would be right up his alley. Maybe he didn't know?

Scott approached his desk, clearing his throat a few times before Peter noticed him and slipped off the headphones. "Hey."

"Hey," he answered back. Peter and he had always dueled it seemed to be the biggest smartass in the room, but it seemed both of them weren't as quick-witted as they desired today. Maybe Finals week was really burning the two of them out.

"So… I didn't know if you heard, but the new Star Wars comes out tomorrow."

Peter looked at him like he was idiot. "Of course I heard. Everyone knows that considering Star Wars is probably the greatest movie that has ever existed in all of time. It's everything that should be in a movie- space, a good-looking blonde, some adventure, a hot chick, and space." Scott debated pointing out he had said space twice, but decided to ignore it. Peter wasn't finished though, passion clear. He dug through his ratty backpack before pulling out a tape. "I even have the music on here and listen to it all the time."

"That looks like an antique virtually," Scott quipped.

Peter gave a sad smile. "It was my mom's. I found this with her tape collection when I was four I think. She let me keep it and then showed me the movie. It's always been my favorite."

Peter was silent then and Scott didn't quite know how to proceed. Peter's mom was a pretty sore subject despite everyone in the school being aware of it. Mainly because everyone was curious why he refused to upgrade from that tape player, only to shut up upon hearing how sentimental the whole subject was. "Awesome," Scott went with, flinching at how awful that sounded. He decided to just push forward. "Because I'm putting together a group to go see it at midnight."

And Peter's face fell, to Scott's confusion. "Oh, I heard about that." He played with the tape in his hands. "Practically everyone's going. It's bigger than the school dance at this point," he quipped.

"Yeah, but I noticed you weren't on the list I have. You can still come if you want. I'm not getting the tickets until tomorrow."

"Thanks, but I can't."

Scott was struck by this and decided to push. "Why not? Have plans? Because Gamora and Drax- "

"No. I don't. Was just going to spend the night at home watching the old ones."

"Then why aren't you coming with us? That makes no sense?"

He shrugged. "I'm just… not interested."

"But you just said- "

Peter let out a noise of pure annoyance before finally looking up at him, voice dropping so only the two of them could hear. "I can't afford to go okay? Happy?" He buried the tape in his bag, leaning back in his chair. "At this point, I'm just trying to get enough for a couple of semesters in community college. So back off."

Scott could tell this was something weighing quite heavily on Peter, even more than every other Senior in the school right now. Scott was trying to save as well, in fact he was blowing the last of the spending money he had put allotted himself for the year on this venture, but at least he had his parents to help him out where they could. He had scholarships he had been applying to relentlessly with help from the guys in terms of essays and questionnaires. The whole thing was incredibly stressful and Scott knew Peter's situation as a ward of the state made it incredibly rougher. The guy was eighteen and he must be exhausted beyond belief. And yet, he never made is apparent in how he behaved usually. He was still as much of a class clown as ever, keeping his personal life incredibly close to his chest.

Unless you were an asshole like Scott and pushed, causing him to lash out just to silence you.

So Scott said the next thing without thinking, letting his sentiment drag him. "Then I'll pay for your ticket." Peter's eyes widened dramatically and Scott's mind instantly started screaming at him. He couldn't do this. This was too much. This was crossing a line from responsibility to just being a plain idiot.

But the way Peter was holding that tape kept him from taking it back. He'd figure this out because there was no doubt this was the right thing to do. "You deserve a break, Quill. It's nearly Christmas and you're almost done with high school. You deserve to go with your friend's tomorrow night, have a great time, and not worry about the crappy part of life. Just go enjoy a new Star Wars movie." He nodded towards the tape. "Your mom would want that."

And when he looked back up, Peter was furiously wiping his eyes before anyone noticed. "Damn dude. You just had to go and make a speech. You triggered my allergies."

Scott sniffled himself. "Yeah. Me too. I should be more careful about that." With that, the bell rang and everyone started getting up. "I'll add you to the list and see you tomorrow. We're meeting at the theatre at eleven."

Peter nodded, tucking the tape away and rising. "Thanks Scott. I don't know if I'll be able to thank you enough for this."

"Then don't bother," Scott shrugged, patting him on the arm. "It's nothing." And with a solemn nod, Peter exited the class looking a lot lighter to someone who was looking like Scott was now.

He went back to his notebook and added a name, now trying to figure out what to do. He only had enough to buy three tickets, there was no way around that. Which meant he needed to ask someone to pay for their own ticket. Peter was of course out, which left Hope and Matt- the two people he was desperately trying to make everything work for.

It was a quick decision of who he was on thicker ice with. Matt would insist he was just getting in the way and take it as a sign he wasn't wanted at all. He would be crushed and everyone would be super pissed at him. He couldn't give his best friend another reason to doubt their friendship. So he made his way slowly over to Hope's locker, knowing once he explained the situation she would understand. He was just trying to do the right thing- the struggle he had been facing to make himself worthy of dating her.

She greeted him wait a large smile. "Guess what came in the mail today? I am officially ready to go to a galaxy far, far away as the most handsome smuggler there is." He geared himself to say it. "Plus, I'll have a cute princess and loyal walking carpet at my side." She smiled. "I've been doing research as you can see. Gwen's been schooling Peggy and I."

"That's great," he smiled forcefully.

She could instantly tell. "Something's wrong. Spill it."

"It's just… I've been crunching the numbers for tickets and I-I don't… I can't pay for yours." Her smile vanished. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for putting you in this spot, but I'm saving for college and only have so much I can spend. Plus, this thing just happened back in class."

She was fuming and it was enough to make him stop. "So, let's see if I got this? You this week have invited me on a date your best friend was already expecting to go on with you and causing us to hurt his feelings, forced me to get a costume so I would fit in so I could go, let this whole thing spiral out of control to the point the school is going on our date, and now you're telling me I have to pay to go on this date with you when you invited me?"

He was doomed. "That is all true, yes."

"You are unbelievable!" she shouted, drawing attention from the hallway.

"I know. I know." He desperately tried to lighten the mood, lining his head up with her open locker door. "Slam away."

She just rolled her eyes and reached into her backpack to pull out her yellow and black striped wallet, eyes never leaving him. He felt like they were burning through his shirt at this point.

"Hope."

"Here." She thrust a couple of bill into his hand before turning her back to him. "See you tomorrow night, asshole. But let me make this clear, I'm doing this for Matt so he has his Han Solo and the rest of our friends who got dragged into this mess." She started to walk off, but turned back. "Let me make this clear. There will be no hand holding, let alone making out."

And she was gone.

God, doing the right thing was exhausting. He didn't know how the others managed.

He forced himself to participate in the excitement of the drive home, speculating and watching the trailer again on their phones to get pumped. It would have been great if he wasn't so stressed, but he tried to make sure Matt wasn't too aware of it. And luckily he seemed to succeed as he climbed out of the car with a comment that Kylo Ren looked like a total badass.

He studied quickly for his last two finals, fielding a couple of people who stopped by his house to drop off funds, before doing a final count in his notebook and checking the money added up right. He then wrote a number at the bottom of the last page and circled it twice, counting again to confirm it was correct. It exhausted him enough to send him right to sleep, but not before sending Hope an emoji of a heart. She didn't respond.

The number at the bottom of the last page, by the way, was eighty-six.

 **Thursday**

Scott knew something was wrong when he woke up. He could just feel it as his eyes blinked open and noticed the sun streaming through the curtains. He grabbed his phone from his nightstand and clicked it, only to see it must have run out of battery and shut down from all the texts he was still getting asking for extensions. Which might be a problem, because that was also his alarm clock.

He scrambled out of bed for the kitchen, standing before the microwave to see it was nine-forty. Now he didn't need to be at school until eleven which was fine, but the movie theatre opened at nine. He was going to be late and he needed eighty-six freaking tickets.

He never got dressed faster in his life, running down the stairs to grab his bike, making sure the envelope of money was tucked away safely in his jacket. He pedaled the couple of miles to the theatre like a madman, not even bothering to lock it as he sprinted in the door.

There was one register with Feige himself standing behind it, watching with interest as Scott nearly tripped coming up to him. "What can I do for you, kid?"

Scott dropped the envelope on the counter. "I need eighty-six tickets to the midnight show of Star Wars please."

The man stared at him for a long moment, blinked a few times. And then, then he started to laugh. It was a quiet, sophisticated laugh but a laugh nonetheless. "Kid, I'm afraid you're a little late for that."

Scott looked at his watch. "It's only ten sixteen. I'm not that late."

"I have every theatre showing that movie at midnight tonight for your information. And there was a line when I got here down the block." Shoot! Scott had figured those kind of people had all went somewhere else. "As of right now, I have… eight tickets left for the last theatre."

Eight. That magic number. That first number back before some slapped a zero and some change on the end. He could get those eight tickets and just refund everyone. It could just be the original group like he had planned. This nightmare would be over. And no one could fault him for not trying.

He could pay for Hope's ticket.

But then he remembered Peter Quill and his tape. And Jane with her words of wisdom on having power. And Peter Parker and his awkwardness. And Bruce Banner with his super polite texts. And how the guys had helped him with all this. And how he was starting to feel good about himself in a way he never had before.

He put the envelope back in his pocket. "Then I guess I'm out of luck." And he walked back to his bike. It should have been hard, but somehow it had been one of the easiest things he had ever done.

He worried about disappointing everyone as he biked to school after sending Sam a text, pit forming in his stomach just from the amount of anger he would probably be facing. He knew he had done the right thing, but that didn't mean this day was going to be easy. God, he was going to be the most hated man in school.

He managed to dodge everyone to get to his locker, not quite sure how to get the chain of news going. The best strategy was probably to go to Darcy Lewis and stick around after school until he was sure everyone had their money back. Then he could spend the night apologizing to his friends for being such a screw-up. They were good people. Maybe they'd forgive him by the time break was over.

"Great idea, Scott," Steve pulled him out of his thoughts as Sam and Matt followed. "Some of the guys on the team just told us."

What? "What?"

"Having Stark just rent out a private screening," Matt smiled. "With all the stress you were going through getting this all together, I'm glad you asked for some help. Could you imagine you just pulling up this morning with an envelope of cash asking for eighty tickets?"

"Eighty-six actually," Scott corrected, mind reeling. He closed his locker. "And I know. I have my moments. Now, excuse me for a second." And with that, he was running down the hallway towards the science lab.

The three watched him go. "He didn't know," Matt sighed.

Sam nodded, crossing his arms. "So didn't know."

"Yep," Steve agreed, fond smile on his face. "You know, I'm glad we kept him around."

"He certainly keeps things interesting," Sam agreed.

Scott, meanwhile, barreled into the science lab where Stark was hard at work on something complicated before he had to go to class. "Stark!" he earned his attention. "Is it true?"

"No. No matter what Rhodey says, it was only three-quarters of the cheerleading team, not all of them. And Pepper knows that."

"What? No. Gross. I mean about the private screening thing. Did you really do that?"

"Oh, that. Yeah. I saw your book after school when you were waving it around and did the math. So I figured why risk the school pulling out the torch and pitchforks if something happened. Plus, I get to be the hero. I like being the center of attention. I texted you about it last night."

"My phone died."

He rolled his eyes. "Caveman technology clearly. I actually saved us six dollars overall, which I expect will be deducted from my ticket for my clever wit and grace under pressure."

Scott nodded, handing him the envelope. "Thank you. You didn't have to do that. But it really saved my skin considering I woke up late this morning."

"Like I said, anything to be the center of attention." He took the envelope and threw it in his bag without a second thought. "Pepper's going to be very impressed by my maturity."

"I'm sure she will. Thank you again… so much." He started out of the room.

"Lang!" Tony called as he slid some goggles on. "I may have swooped in, but you're the one who put this whole thing together. I'm sure it was no small task and you deserve a portion of the credit as well… maybe twelve percent of the credit."

"I'll take it."

"You'll need to get there early- check everyone off on your list. I don't want any freeloaders crashing the party."

Scott had planned on meeting everyone at Gwen's like planned, but it was the least he could do for the guy who had literally saved his neck. The others would get that. "I'll be there."

The last two Finals flew by and then school was done. He threw everything in his locker with a smile, only to frown as he noticed Hope had already vanished altogether. Maybe it was good he wasn't going to Gwen's- he might make things nothing but awkward for everyone.

Matt was clearly excited beyond belief, which brought a huge smile to his face. His best friend was throwing the circumstances out the window and just letting himself get swept up in the movie. He couldn't have hoped for a better reaction to the end of the week. Everyone was going to miss him at Gwen's, but they would save him a seat. And he got that feeling that they were proud of him again and it was enough to make his smile stretch from ear to ear.

Scott had dinner and hung around before pulling the white sheet he had cut up over his head and securing it with one of his belts. He proceeded to put on a headband with a cinnamon bun glued to each side, to his mother's anger at wasting food, and grabbed a toy blaster before biking to the theatre.

He spent the next hour and forty-five minutes checking in everyone who entered the theatre Tony had selected, having to be tough and turn a few away. He had taken a bite of one of his buns when he desperately needed some sugar.

Jane and Thor had greeted him- he wore his jersey but she was dressed as Padme' in a costume she clearly hadn't just acquired for tonight by the level of detail. Peter Quill was with his friends and had given him a huge hug going in that lifted him off the floor. It made that smile appear again. He somehow missed his friends in the conclusion, but knew he'd see them inside.

He headed in with just ten minutes left and everyone accounted for, grabbing popcorn and a drink for the private vendors Tony had gotten in the bargain. He would need to finish this before the movie so he could be sharp for Matt. He stepped along the wall, appearing in the aisle just as Tony seemed to be finishing up a speech of some kind.

Tony glanced at him and smiled. "And here he is. The true hero of the day." And with that, Scott was suddenly the center of attention as the whole room burst into applause and cheers. He had merely waved, embarrassed as Tony clapped him on the back. "Heroes are humble after all."

Scott nodded as everyone settled down, looking for his seat. And then he came to a stop.

The middle row of the theatre was completely empty save for two people with a spot between them. The first was Hope, looking sexy in her Han Solo dress he had to say. The second was Matt in a Chewbacca onesie that looked two sizes too big for him. Everyone else, the guys and their dates, were directly behind him. They had saved him quite a seat after all it seemed.

That gesture somehow meant more to him than the clapping. His friends, they were extraordinary.

He went to take his seat only for Hope to rise and throw her arms around him. "Peter told me what you did," she whispered. "He heard us fight and he didn't think it was fair to you. He thought you were trying to keep it secret for him. I told him I just didn't let you get a word in." She pulled away and smiled. "I am very proud of you, Scott Lang."

He swore his heart burst. "Thank you."

And then she punched him in the gut. "Next time, don't be an idiot and make me listen to you."

"Noted," he gasped, taking his seat between the two, Hope lacing her hand in his instantly.

"For what it's worth, I'm proud of you too," Matt added with a smirk. "I'm told this is pretty amazing… and even worth a page in the yearbook since it's practically a school event."

"I feel sorry for the sap who has to replicate it next year," Scott scoffed, earning a laugh from the two just as the light started going down. "Here we go."

And then then hand left his, Hope stepping over him and to Matt's other side. He stared at her in confusion as she now put her hand on top of his best friend's with a kind smile she didn't usually show. "What? You're horrible at explaining things to him. He deserves to know every detail of this one."

Scott nodded, leaning back and readying his position at his friend's side. "I think you have competition," Matt whispered.

"Don't be getting any ideas. I'm not about to let go easily… of either one of you."

And with that, the theatre went black and the room silent. Scott waited for the music to hit, knowing that everything had been worth it. Because he was here, and it was perfect.

 **Friday**

She stared at him and he stared at her, Scott begging for words to be exchanged and confirm the theories in his head. But then the music swept in and the credits started, the whole room bursting into a cheering standing ovation.

He and Matt spoke the whole way out about how much that one scene had hurt and how Finn and Poe had a bromance worthy of their own. They just could not bottle up their excitement as Steve and Sam joined in- Steve adamant that the obvious theory was not the true one.

They started for the car, Scott wheeling his bike over, when someone called out for him. "Scott!" He turned to see Peter Quill running up to him. He came to a stop and held something out. "I wanted to give you this."

Even in the darkness Scott could tell what it was. "Quill, I couldn't possibly- I know how much that means to you."

"Exactly." He placed it in his hand, the tape with the Star Wars logo emblazoned across it. "Thank you for such an amazing night. It means the world there's guys like you looking out for people. You're a great friend." And with that, he ran off to join his other friends while Scott held the tape like it was made of glass.

It sat on his desk with his ticket tucked in a hole for the rest of the school year and then his desk at college and finally the desk of the security firm he founded. It was always a reminder of one of the greatest nights of his life and the countless people who he'd been able to share it with.

Including the version of himself he strived to be for the rest of his life.

XXX

 _Merry Christmas Caitlyn. And Kayleigh, I promise, next time a Thor one just for you._


	6. When They Went to Disney World

**That Time in Infinity High**

 _When Everyone Took a Trip to Disney World_

 _Prologue_

 _Avengers Senior Year- Spring Break_

XXX

Sam Wilson let out a large yawn as he stood at the curb in front of Infinity High, duffel bag dropping from his hand to the pavement so he could stretch. It was far too early in the morning for anyone to expect him to be awake, let alone with it in any capacity. And from the look of everyone gathered in front of the school it seemed to be the popular opinion. He was pretty sure Scott was literally asleep on the sidewalk, backpack being doubled for a pillow. He glanced towards the street for any sign of the buses everyone was anticipating any moment now, feeling another yawn come on.

"Cutting into your beauty sleep?" he felt the nudge in the side from his best friend. He hated to say it, but it nearly knocked him over. Steve sometimes didn't know his own strength, still always that skinny Freshman at heart. And though is meant some bruised ribs Sam was thankful for it- he wouldn't have his best pal any other way really.

"A bit, but you know, I think I look fine enough without it," he smirked, picking his duffel bag back up. Steve gave a conciliatory nod as if he couldn't argue, making Sam's smile even wider. He and Steve had always had a good dynamic since they both made the baseball team their first year. Sam was actually one of the only ones who didn't cut the scrawny kid out, volunteering to be his partner for drills when Coach had Bucky wrapped up in his pitching training. At first he thought it was just out of charity. But then he had honestly been surprised how much the kid had pushed him just in sheer willingness to go that extra mile when everyone counted him out. So Sam made sure he ran it with him, no matter how long it took.

He had stuck with him even when Bucky had transferred to Hydra Academy Sophomore year and for a while it seemed like Steve didn't want to have much to do with anyone. Sam could be persistent too if he wanted. And soon the two of them were pretty inseparable on the field and off. Though these days he was lucky if he could finish in twice the time.

Steve nodded through the darkness, interrupting his train of thought, and Sam turned to see two buses making their way towards the front of the school. He turned his attention to the other two members of their merry little band, knowing they needed to get rounded up as per usual. The first was clutching his cane and standing still as a statue beside them taking everything in, red sunglasses on his face despite the sun just peeking over the horizon.

"Matt, the bus is coming," Steve made him aware, bending down to pick up his friend's bag over the opposite shoulder of his own. "I've got your bag, alright?"

"Thanks," Matt Murdock smiled, edging closer to the two of them. He nodded his head towards the sound of snoring on the ground. "I'm guessing Scott's still asleep?"

Sam looked down over the one and only Scott Lang, who at this point had his mouth wide open and was roaring like a jet engine. Though perhaps a little harsh, Sam gave him a swift kick into the side of his leg. It had the desired effect, making Infinity High's once burglar nearly leap into the air from surprise with incomprehensible grunting. Sam just smiled. "He is now." He pointed at the corner of his own mouth once Scott seemed to get his bearings. "You got something there, Lang."

Scott wiped it furiously with his sleeve before climbing to his feet. "Well, this is going to be a fun week together, Wilson. Glad you're getting it off to such a memorable start."

"I'm not the one who apparently suffers from narcolepsy." He quirked his eyebrow at Scott, the movement that seemed to most accompany interactions with him. The two of them had honestly come a long way from the animosity that had been present after their first meeting, but no one managed to get on his nerves quite like Lang. He never understood what Matt had seen in the guy that he'd been willing to take a chance on, but clearly it had done them both a lot of good. And as long as his friends were happy, Sam could put up with just about anybody. And he might even count Lang as a friend these days as well, though he would never admit it out loud.

"Are the girls here yet?" Matt inquired as the buses came to a stop before the gathered groups of Seniors, whispers of excitement growing around them.

Steve glanced around, shaking his head. "No. Not yet." He glanced at his watch, a dying breed of person who didn't rely on his phone for such info. "They've got ten minutes though."

"It must be Gwen," Scott deduced as he threw his backpack over his shoulders. "She's probably trying to fit her entire shoe collection into her suitcase right now. And given how big it is that is going to take some serious tenacity because… I mean… they are all adorable and she couldn't possibly choose between them."

Sam gave him another look. Two in thirty seconds- by no means a record. The others may have been content to let this quirky dialogue pass, but he wasn't. Part of it still might be his suspicion that Scott was going to snap back to his old ways one day, but the majority of it was just a great fun he had in not letting him get away without explaining anything. It was great fun for Sam. "How do you personally know the size of Gwen's shoe collection?"

Scott scratched the back of his head. "I may have hidden in her closet once or twice when Hank came to pick up Hope."

"Please call him Dr. Pym," Steve requested. "It gets really weird when you go around calling him Hank."

Matt couldn't help but scoff and Scott instantly locked onto him. "I don't know what you're laughing about. You were in there with me all three times my friend."

"I'm well aware. I distinctly remember a pair of blue pumps you kept pointing out. That you still point out whenever she wears them." The buses opened their doors and the guys started towards the one Coulson was in front of- Steve guiding Matt by the elbow. "'Matt, I know you can't see it, but I was right. Gwen looks good in those shoes.'"

Scott just looked back and shook his head at his best friend. "That is not my voice at all. You know, for a blind guy you suck at doing voices."

And that might have been the kind of comment that once upon a time earned Scott a swift punch in the gut from a protective Sam Wilson. He had come to know Matt through Steve and become just as fiercely protective of him in a short amount of time- a sometimes annoying quality of his. And Scott had tested that resolve many a time. But he also had grown comfortable with the fact that Matt was perfectly capable of defending himself.

Sure enough, Matt had his comeback ready. "What's your excuse then?" Sam and Steve both let out a laugh as they checked in with Coulson and his clipboard. They helped Matt up the rickety bus stairs, making sure that he was at least somewhat independent in his efforts though. They had learned to back off a bit in their old age.

The four of them took their seats on the shorter bus across from one another- Sam with Steve and Matt with Scott. Sam instantly leaned back with a sigh, propping his arms behind his head. "Let the relaxation begin. The first Spring Break where we don't have to worry about homework. We're in the home stretch."

"Dude, we're going to Disney World," Scott disagreed. "You're going to need a vacation from this vacation when everything's said and done." They watched as Tony and Pepper came down the aisle, Bruce carrying what looked to be all the bags behind them. "I'm surprised you're coming with us Stark. I thought you would be all about Universal."

"It was," Stark admitted as he took a seat behind them. "But then I actually looked up what the hell an EPCOT is. I'm excited to see what kind of experimental technology they have made available for the public to explore… since Disney owns the world and all that. They've been ahead on a lot of things pretty much since their inception. I might even be able to invest in some of it, bring it home to Dad. So here Bruce and I am. Didn't stop Rhodes for betraying me though in favor of giant dinosaurs and Harry Potter."

"Are you excited Pepper?" Steve politely addressed the woman at Stark's side who was typing away furiously on her phone.

"Considering I have both my and Tony's college essays to write this week, I wish we had been given the fourth option to stay home. They kept pushing though, said I had earned it."

Every year Infinity High came up with a large Spring Break activity to thank and reward Seniors who kept their GPA's at a certain level and scored high enough in Georgia state testing. Everything was pretty much provided thanks to generous parents and donors- the only thing the kids had to worry about was food and souvenirs. This year three options had been presented at the beginning of the year- Sea World/Busch Gardens, Universal, or Disney World. There were only two buses here today because thanks to Tony sharing his Netflix password with the masses, pretty much everyone had seen Blackfish. Thus no one had taken the third option.

The guys had pretty quickly come to their decision, making sure everything checked out with the girls as well. Scott and Steve were the huge Disney fans of the bunch and it hadn't taken much convincing for Matt and Sam to just shrug and agree to go along with them. A vacation was a vacation. And Scott perhaps deserved a larger say for just how much extra work he had put into improving his GPA once he had met the guys and turned things around. The girls had been pretty impartial and agreed pretty quickly to join this group as well.

"Who else is coming?" Sam inquired. "I know the girls should be here any second, but who else do we have? I know Jane was on the fence up until the last minute."

"She ended up going Universal," Pepper filled him in, never looking up from her phone. "It came down to the wire and she ended up choosing Harry Potter over Star Wars after nearly having a mental breakdown about it."

"It kills her a little each day," Bruce added solemnly. He pointed a thumb towards the back of the bus. "Natasha's back there."

"What?" Scott asked, peeking over his seat to get a glance of the redhead silently reading her book in the back. "I didn't even see her get on here. I didn't even know she was invited." He turned to Matt. "You're kind of friends. Did she tell you?"

"We worked together on one English project two years ago. And there may have been a brief make-out study session we were never to speak of again. I've blocked it from my mind. And that is as far as our relationship goes so she didn't exactly fill me in on her plans."

"A girl turned you down?" Tony asked in mock horror. "Never thought I'd live to see the day."

Matt just chucked to himself. "You may kid Tony, but just be glad you got to Pepper before I did. I have a pretty good track record for redheads."

Tony didn't dignify that with a response, only to be surprised when Pepper spoke up. "He's right. You should be."

Any fight that was about to break out was quelled as the Peggy Carter climbed onto the bus with her towering confidence, instantly putting down anything that might have been brewing. She lit up at the sight of Steve and made her way down the aisle, Hope Van Dyne and Gwen Stacy right behind her. Sam couldn't help but notice that Gwen's suitcase did look much bigger than the others… and that she was wearing a nice pair of blue shoes. He mentally cursed Scott for the observation.

"Hello darling," Peggy greeted Steve with a quick kiss on the cheek that made him blush, grabbing the seat in front of Sam and him. Hope took the one across from her, noticing Scott looking at her intently.

"Don't expect me to kiss you," she made clear, reminding Sam why he liked her so much. She took even less of Scott's nonsense than anyone else did. Gwen made her way past them and took the seat next to Bruce with a kind smile.

"Gwen, how exactly are you here?" the scientist inquired. "You're a Junior."

"Office made a mistake," she answered simply. "I took the standardized tests a year early for practice and they got so mixed up they sent me an invitation." It actually wasn't too hard to believe, given how Gwen spent practically all of her time around Seniors outside of her boyfriend. Most of the student body themselves was confused on the matter.

"And you just didn't correct them?"

She shrugged. "Didn't see a reason to. I worked hard. Fury did call me into his office Friday though. He made it clear I wasn't going to receive an offer next year… to which I answered that was completely fine. And here I am."

Everyone had dissolved into their own conversations: Tony arguing with Pepper, Peggy and Steve asking each other about their weekend, Scott telling Hope that if she didn't kiss him he would kiss Matt instead, Matt begging to switch seats, and so one when Coulson followed the final two up the bus stairs. The first went right to the back, taking the seat in front of Natasha with a thump and crossing her arms after pushing her earbuds in.

"It looks like Jessica wishes she could have stayed at home too," Sam commented about perhaps the most edgy member of their class. No one really approached her about anything, given how she was prone to flip on you any minute with her seeming perpetual supply or anger and sarcasm. It was no surprise she was here though. There was no doubt the girl was smart as could be, just in perhaps a different way than the members of the Science Club.

The second was a bit of a surprise, but an extremely welcome one. Peter Quill seemed to be unlucky when it came to most things in life and honestly deserved more breaks than he got. Peggy instantly moved so he could sit beside her, unable to return his wide grin with one of her own. Peter was pretty relentless when it came to the ladies of their school, but he had enough respect for Peggy and Steve to keep things cordial. "You seem excited," she made him aware.

He nodded. "This is my first time leaving Georgia, let alone going on vacation. I can't wait."

"I'm so happy for you then," she responded. "Don't worry. You're in good hands to make sure you have a great time." Coulson said a few words to the driver before taking a seat in the front and soon the bus was putting the school behind it- the other bus still had a line it looked like.

Scott nodded, pulling out a piece paper from seemingly thin air. "Yes. Because we have a list!"

Matt groaned. "You're pulling out the list already? We've barely even left yet."

"Now is as good a time as any to get everyone on the same page of our vacation goals. So we have… eat a meal in every country of EPCOT with this one being for us guys and Peggy since she can keep up, see Fantasmic twice because it's that good, see a giraffe and a lion though not at the same time, never wait more than an hour and a half for anything, all couples have at least one romantic meal, have at least one group meal, and buy anything we please without hesitation bank accounts be damned." He folded the paper, looking back at Stark. "I think that means you can buy the entire property then, right?"

Sam couldn't help but cut in. "I believe you forgot something, Lang. Something I'm pretty sure you've been going on about for months at this point."

Everyone turned their attention to Scott, who shook his head a little too furiously. "Pretty sure I got it all."

"No," Matt joined. "I'm pretty sure Sam's right."

"Stop," Scott warned. "Or I will not talk to you this entire vacation."

"Empty threat," Matt called his bluff immediately. "Why don't you tell everyone what your most important goal is?"

"Yeah, why don't you tell us?" Peter questioned genuinely. Scott took a deep breath before unfolding the paper once again.

"And meet Rapunzel because it's your dream," he said rapidly before folding it again.

"I don't see why you're being so hesitant," Sam shrugged. "I plan on meeting all the princesses while I'm there."

"Yeah, but not because Tangled is your favorite movie and Rapunzel your role model," Matt reminded him. "I mean, I've been made aware of the Hallmark frame that has her picture and tell you to find a new dream."

"Your role model in life is a Disney character?" Tony questioned.

Scott crossed his arms. "She is a strong, bright, independent woman who expresses her creativity as well as great compassion and honesty. Anyone would be lucky to look up to her… or date her."

"If she was real," Matt added.

"Stop rubbing salt in the wound Matt! You don't have to constantly remind me of that!"

Hope put a hand up. "Wait, Tangled is your favorite movie? You told me it was Ocean's Eleven."

"Oh, we all have our decoy favorite movies to protect ourselves. We made that pact a long time ago," Scott explained, happy to sell his traitorous friends out. "I say it's Ocean's Eleven but it's Tangled. Matt says it's To Kill a Mockingbird but it's really the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, somehow despite the fact that he can't see any of the action."

"My mind does a pretty good job filling it in."

"Sam says it's Top Gun but it's really The Proposal."

"Seriously?" Quill asked. Sam just stared right back.

"Yes. Why, are you saying it's not a good movie?"

"No," Quill deferred. "It's the perfect blend of comedy of romance really. The two of them have great chemistry and it's a solid choice."

"Thank you."

"And what about Steve?" Peggy inquired. "He says it's Homeward Bound."

"Oh that one's easy. It is Homeward Bound. He cries practically every time."

Steve shrugged. "What can I say? I'm an honest man."

"I know. And it is incredibly attractive."

"You two need to get a room," Gwen rolled her eyes. "I thought it was bad when it was just the stares and the flirting. I don't know how it got worse now that you're together, but it has."

"I still don't see how Tangled could be your favorite movie?" Hope commented.

"Why not? It's perfect. Flynn Rider and Rapunzel are hands down the best Disney couple by a long shot with Giselle and Robert being close second because Enchanted is also flawless."

Hope shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm not as big on Disney as you are and have only seen each once, but I think Frozen's better."

You could have heard a pin drop as Scott regarded his girlfriend, eyes glazing over. Matt grimaced. "Oh, that might be a deal breaker. You might want to jump off this bus Hope while there's still time."

"Seriously," Sam added. "Those were fighting words."

Scott slumped back in his seat. "My girlfriend likes Frozen more than Tangled." He took a moment. "She's also only ever seen Tangled once."

"You're impossible," Hope put her hand to her head. Sam was inclined to agree. "It's just a movie. It's no big deal."

"Hope, I just… I might need some space now okay." Her look was enough to snap him out of it though. "Okay. The space was given and I have decided to move past this. You said you aren't a huge Disney person and thus couldn't make the right decision. So… we will use this week to fix that and then we can revisit the topic."

"Scott, I'm basically going on this vacation to get away from my dad and spend time with my friends. That's about it."

"Just give me the week. I've got this." He turned to Matt. "Once she gets a taste of that Disney magic… at last she'll see the light."

Matt just stared in his direction. "How do you have a girlfriend and I don't right now?"

And with that, everyone seemed to settle in a bit for the rest of the ride, having a few separate conversations about plans and ideas for the trip. Tony just kept talking about EPCOT while Peter drunk in every word everyone was saying, clearly on Cloud Nine with all of this. Jessica and Natasha just remained in the back in their own worlds.

They pulled up to the place they would be staying, the Pop Century Resort, and Coulson got all of their attention from the front of the bus. "So this is where we'll be staying for the duration of the trip. The rooms aren't ready yet, so I planned on heading right out to the park after we drop our bags off if that's alright?" Everyone nodded, respecting their chaperone. "I'm not going to have us moving in one big group the whole time. You're all adults and can keep track of yourselves. Though if you are later to checking in with me expect to spend the rest of this trip looking out your window in the hotel." Jessica actually seemed to perk up with this. "Don't test me, Ms. Jones."

He looked at his clipboard. "Alright, everyone is going to partner up. You should stick with your partner at all times. If you lose them… find them. You have phones. You can change daily if you want as well. So… you know what, I'm just going to wing this. Peggy and Hope, Sam and Steve with Peter if you'd be so kind, Lang and Matt, Tony and Pepper, Bruce and Gwen, and Jessica and Natasha. Am I close?"

No one responded, everyone nodding along. "Thought so. You have my number, so call and text if there are any questions. We will be meeting outside the main gates after the fireworks at ten-thirty, alright?" Again, everyone nodded. "Well, let's stop hanging about here. We have a vacation waiting. Remember, you all have earned this. So go and have a great time." With that, a cheer erupted from the bus and everyone made their way to front.

"The Magic Kingdom isn't going to know what hit it!" Scott yelled as he disembarked, a sentiment he didn't know just how true it was going to be.


End file.
